Apollo's Girl
by kurama'scrystalrose
Summary: Flare had a hard time believing in family, being abandoned by both her parents. Upon coming to camp, she was forced to come face to face with that term when she's sent on a quest to protect the only people she's come to care about, her father excluded.
1. Prologue

I had always been different. That was a definite fact. For example, when I was five, I was able to hit a note so high in my preschool musical, that it shattered glass. Also, at that same recital, this weird guy tried to jump me onstage. No one would listen to me, but I swear up and down that he was some weird snake guy. Another example, when I was in fourth grade, my school caught fire. My teacher, who had been an idiot, might I add, didn't react fast enough. Therefore, myself and three other kids were caught in the burning building. While the others screamed for help and cried in pain, I sat in the middle of the flames, untouched, and stared at the different shapes the flames made. I made it out with no burns on my body at all.

Everyone thought I was a freak. I got into so many fights at school, that I had been expelled from a different school almost each year. I had a temper, so what? I dare you to live a day in my house and see how sane you are by the end of it. Also, being ADHD and dyslexic doesn't help.

I didn't have parents. I had never met either of them. I lived with my stepdad, and his two 'princesses.' He never spoke of my mother, even though, in all technicality, he was still married to her.

Richard was a tall man in his late forties. His dark, oily hair was short and balding in front. His dark beady eyes lit with every right his girls did, and darkened at every wrong I did. He was tall, tall enough that all his ugly pinstriped suits had to be hand tailored. He was beginning to get a bit of a belly in front, and it was quite funny to watch his youngest try to get him to work out with her.

Bella and Kellie were his 'princesses' from his previous marriage. Both had their father's dark brown hair. Bella's was long and Kellie's was short. Both had the same dark eyes, and that same tall gene. It scared me that they looked nothing like their own mother, and everything like their father.

Bella was an 'artiste.' As she puts it. She paints, sings, dances, and so on and so forth. She's the school's soprano. In all honestly, she's not even very good. She's always making her pictures into blobs, her voice cracks while singing, and she can't handle difficult choreography.

Kellie was the athlete. She runs track, and plays soccer and softball. She loved to run. Run, run, run, run. Everything had to be done quickly. She was fast paced and expected the rest of us to be too. She usually gave up on me after the third time I threw something at her when she tried to wake me up at 5 in the morning for a jog around town.

All three of them hated me. I took the spotlight away from Bella when it came to singing and dancing. I can beat Kellie at jogging in the morning when I actually get up. I loved watching the sunrise. Something about it fascinated me. My most prized possession was my guitar that I had had for so long, I can't remember. I've literally had it since I was born. It was a gift from one of my parents. I knew how to play it, known songs and ones I make up. They hated me for it. They hated me because I was different. That known fact makes me an outsider in my own home.

I guess now would be a good time to tell you who I was. My name is Flare Ruik. I have sandy hair that falls to my shoulder blades that I usually pin back out of my face with bobby pins. My eyes are a mixture of yellow, red, and orange, almost like fire. I was fourteen years old when everything started. My biggest mistake led to my biggest headache, that in the end turned out to be my biggest, and best adventure.

**Thanks for reading the prologue. **

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**This is the first actual chapter, enjoy ^^**

It was a normal day. As normal as you get with the wicked stepfather and sisters. All those Cinderella stories, they do not apply. At least not in my case.

"Hurry up in there!" Bella yelled, banging on the door.

I glared at the door. I opened it, with my toothbrush still in my mouth and looked at her.

I took the toothbrush out of my mouth and turned to the sink. After spitting out the toothpaste, I said, "I've been in here for five minutes. Five, cinco, go." English, Spanish and Japanese. She should get one of them, right?

"I don't know what that last sentence was," Bella said in her high-pitched, annoying voice. "But I need the bathroom. I have a very important recital tonight."

I looked at her, "It starts at seven. PM. News flash, Bella, its seven AM right now."

"Are you arguing with my princess?" I rolled my eyes as Richard came to stand next to his daughter. "Get out of the bathroom."

I grabbed my bag of things and pushed by them. "Whatever, I was done anyway. It's just the fact that she doesn't need twelve hours to prep." Honestly, all I had been able to do was brush my teeth.

Bella "hmphed" at me, "Says the girl who doesn't know what it's like to be popular."

"Great," I called back, not turning to face her. "It means I can stay out of rehab when I get older." I slammed my door on them and locked it. I brushed out my hair and changed into my jeans and T-shirt there.

I spent the rest of the day on my bed with my guitar. My sheets of music were sprawled all over my bed and the hard case was open on the floor, filled with more. My pencil sat behind my ear as I strummed my instrument. The case was lined with red velvet and satin. The case itself was black with gold stitching. Most kids with ADHD can't sit still long enough to write a song. For me though, music is the only thing I seem to be good at. That and my Mythology class.

Every school I've been to, the music teachers were dying to have me in their choir. The theater teachers begged me to be in their musicals. They all said I was the best singer they had ever heard. I wasn't a full soprano, but I wasn't close to being an alto. I was happily in the middle.

At the school I was in now, I had to share it with Bella and Kellie. When people heard my singing, they started bugging me. I need to learn to not sing to my Ipod during lunch . . . A few people wanted me to join the recital and out sing Bella. I would, if I didn't have to live with Bella afterwards.

Around 4ish, Richard banged on my door, "Keep it down in there. My princess has to relax and practice. Don't bother her."

I sighed in annoyance. Ignoring what he had said, I continued strumming and singing.

"Shut up in there!" Bella yelled from her room an hour and a half later.

I ignored her as well. My music was my music. It was the only thing that kept me sane in this House of Horrors.

I didn't even pause when Bella started banging on my door. I continued to sing as I looked at the wood. I continued to sing even when Richard used his spare key, which he only had for my room, to barge in. I only stopped when Bella stomped in and grabbed my guitar from me.

I glared at her, "Give it back."

She flipped her hair and turned her back to me, leaving my room. I followed her.

"Leave her alone," Richard told me.

"I will when she gives me my guitar back," I told him.

Bella turned to glare over her shoulder at me. She had put her short hair up into curlers and had way too much makeup on. I saw Kellie poke her head out of her room to look at us. She was 'relaxing' too, since she had a meet to run the next day.

"Give it back," I said again, holding my hand out to Bella.

She turned fully to me, and sneered, "I think I'd rather burn it."

I felt a twitch.

Bella turned to Richard, "Daddy, can I please burn this annoying contraption?" She gave her pouty, childish look.

I growled, "Don't you dare. That's my guitar and I want it back."

She glared at me again, "Oh please, you don't even know where it came from, huh?"

I continued to glare.

She smiled triumphantly, "Both of your parents are dead beats, and you hate the fact that it's true. You hate that I'm, as usual, right and you're wrong. I have the best Daddy in the world and you have nothing." She smiled up at her father who smiled proudly back at her.

"At least I have real looks and talent," I shot back.

She returned to her own glaring.

"Give it back," I repeated lowly.

She hefted it over her shoulder, like it was a softball bat and set her other hand on her hip. Her manicured fingernails glinted in the fading sunlight that came through the window over the stairs.

She raised the guitar. She was going to smash hit.

I felt a thud come up behind my eyes, like the ones you get when you have a migraine. This wasn't a headache though. Next thing I knew, Bella's hair, which had been packed with curlers and hair spray, burst into flames.

She quickly dropped my guitar and I barely caught it before it hit the ground. Bella was screaming, high pitched. Kellie was leaning in her doorway, watching in shock. Richard started freaking out.

While they figured that out, I ran back into my room. I shoved my sheet music and some clothes into my guitar case and put the instrument itself in too. I latched it closed and threw the strap over my shoulder. I came out of my room in time to be met with a very mad looking Richard.

His face was going purple as he glared at me, "What did you do to my princess?"

"How should I know?" I asked, pushing by him.

"I want you out of my house!" he roared. "I don't want you anywhere near us again."

"Trust me!" I yelled back, "It would be my pleasure!" I walked out the front door and he slammed it behind me.

As I stalked down the street, I saw Kellie standing in the window. She was watching me with a mix of fear and disgust written on her face. Like I cared anymore.

I walked to the edge of town until the high way turned into a barren forest on either side. That was where I stopped. The sun had set and the moon and stars were out. I set my case on the ground and sat on it.

"Great job, Flare," I muttered. "Now where?"

I set my elbows on my knees and rested my head on my fists. I sighed.

As much as I hated it, Bella was right. My parents were dead beats. I never knew either of them. My mom left me with Richard without as much as a note. The only thing I had was the guitar. I don't know who gave it to me. In the velvet lining on the inside, someone had sewed in "For my girl." That was it though. No names. No 'love dad' or 'love mom.' I was someone's girl, but whose, I didn't know.

I looked up at the sky, which was a habit I had. The sky was interesting to me. I saw a shooting star fly across the black blanket.

I sighed and started to sing, "Shooting star, a beautiful light in the sky. Yet you're so far, out of my reach. Starlight, star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might. Grant the wish I wish tonight. Shooting star, come back and save me from this place."

I stood again and picked up my guitar case. I started to walk when I saw another flash from the sky. When I looked up there was a white streak moving across the darkness. It was a lot bigger and brighter then a shooting star. I watched as it moved through the sky, down the road.

_Follow me, Flare_ a voice said in my head. _I'll take you somewhere where you'd be accepted._ I stumbled forward slightly and then ran after the light. That could not be a star. But if it wasn't a star, then what was it? A meteor? And what was with the voice. I had to be going crazy.

The light started fading after a few minutes, until it was completely gone. I slowed down and then stopped, looking for it to reappear again. It didn't.

**The adventure's just starting, I'll try to update soon!**


	3. Chapter 2

"Come on!" I groaned. "What is wrong with me? First the fire, then the light, and the voice. And I'm stupid enough to follow it. It's official, I am insane!"

I had started pacing when I started ranting. I stopped at the last sentence and turned to face a hill. I paused when I saw someone standing on top of the hill. He was tall and lanky with tanned skin that proved he wasn't all American and dark hair to match. He was watching me with a curious and cautious look with his arms crossed casually over his chest. He was dressed in weird looking battle armor that I had seen before, just couldn't remember where. He also had a bow and quiver of arrows over his shoulders across his back.

I placed my fists on my hips and glared at him, "Can I help you? Or do you enjoy watching girls lose their minds?"

He tilted his head and watched me.

I flapped my arms and let them hit my legs, "Whatever, I am not dealing with this."

Something caught my eyes. Something that was wrapped around the large pine tree the guy was standing next to. I tilted my own head.

"That is one big lizard," I commented.

This got the guy to look surprised. He looked down at whatever it was next to him and then back at me. "You can see him?"

I looked at him like he was the crazy one, "I'm crazy, not blind."

He watched me for a second and said, "He's not a lizard."

I groaned in frustration, "Okay, I don't know who you are or where I am. I am tired and pissed and I am not playing guessing games right now. What's your point?"

He stayed quiet.

I glared and stalked up the hill. I came right up to him, almost in his face if he wasn't taller than I was. "Hello? Are you listening to me?"

He looked behind me, and then back at me. I rolled my eyes and jumped.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing to the thing wrapped around the tree.

"A dragon," he answered me.

I looked at him, "Uh-uh, no way. They don't exist."

"Yes they do," he replied. He paused, "What's your name?"

I shook my head, "Flare Ruik." I started muttering to myself, "I'm crazy. I am crazy."

He shook his head, "You're not crazy." He held his hand out to me, "I'm Manny Juarez." I just stared at him. He smiled, "Come on. I know someone who can explain things better than I can."

He turned and started walking down the opposite side of the hill. I kept staring, and then finally followed. I followed him past a bunch of things that I kept referencing to a camp. He led me to a big, faded blue house. Two men were sitting on the porch at a card table, playing cards. Some hands even floated next to them.

"Chiron," Manny called, walking up the steps.

The man in the wheelchair, who had curly brown hair and a beard and was wearing a leather jacket turned to look at him, "Something wrong, Manny?"

Manny shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong." He turned to me, "I found Flare here while out on patrol. She got through the barrier no problem and saw our guard dragon."

The other guy, a big man in a leopard print shirt and shorts, grumbled, "Great, another one."

Chiron smiled at me, "Hello, Flare. My name is Chiron. I'm the activities director here."

"Yeah, hi," I said halfheartedly. I was busy watching a lot of teens run by with weapons and wearing the same kind of armor as Manny. "Where am I?"

Chiron stood, and I stared again. From the waist down, Chiron was a horse. A horse. Men don't have horse back ends. It is only possible in my Mythology book. Note people: this isn't my Mythology book.

Manny laughed at my look. He was close enough, and tall enough, that my elbow hit him clear in the ribs.

"Ow," he muttered, clutching his side. Needless to say he stopped laughing.

"This is Camp Halfblood," Chiron said.

"Camp Who-ha?" I asked.

The other guy at the table laughed.

"Halfblood," Chiron told me again. "This is the home to demigods."

"Demigods?" I asked. "Kids born to a human and god?"

He smiled again, "Correct. Tell me, Flare, are you dyslexic?"

I nodded.

"Diagnosed with ADHD?"

Another nod.

"Where is your guardian?"

I scoffed, "Beats me. My mom left me with some jerk that kicked me out. I've never met either parent."

He nodded, "Gods don't usually involve themselves in their children's lives."

I rolled my eyes, "Some parents."

The other guy turned his gaze from his cards to me. "Not all gods are bad parents, Flour."

I glared, "It's Flare."

"Whatever," he muttered, going back to his cards.

"Why were you kicked out?" Chiron asked me.

I shrugged, "I somehow set his daughter's hair on fire."

They all stared at me.

"Manny," Chiron said to the guy standing next to me. He was still rubbing his side. "Why not take her down to the Hermes cabin? She can get situated there until dinner."

Manny nodded, "Sure. Come on Flare."

I followed. "What the heck is going on?"

Manny smiled at me, "I know how you feel. I was in the same place about five years ago."

"You've been here for five years?" I asked.

He nodded, "My mom died when I was little. A satyr brought me here, and I've been here since."

He led me to a cabin. I mentally counted each of the ones we passed, "There are twelve gods, right?"

Manny nodded.

"Why the extra cabins?"

"For the minor gods," he explained. He actually paused in walking to face me. He explained about the war between the gods and the titans. How a lot of demigods turned on Olympus because their parents weren't properly acknowledged.

"So you acknowledge them," I muttered.

He nodded. "Come on."

At the Hermes cabin, I got a lot of weird looks. I actually got into a fight with one of the younger boys. He tried to spray paint my guitar when my back was turned and I turned on him. Not the best idea when everyone else in the cabin were his 'siblings.' I didn't care, it got my point across.

I was sitting on the edge of their table at dinner when another guy decided to get smart. I had brought my guitar out with me because I didn't trust the children of the God of Thieves to keep it in their cabin. One of the guys, from the Ares cabin as I found out, decided to taunt me.

"What do you sing to?" he asked from his perch on his bench. "Cause I bet the walls are the only things that will stay to listen!"

His siblings laughed with him.

"Shut up, Harry," Manny said from his table. "Let her eat."

"Stay out of it," Harry snapped at him. He turned his attention back to me. "I bet you can shatter glass."

"I can," I told him.

He laughed, "Really? You must suck. How does your family deal with you."

I twitched.

"I mean, who would want someone who would break every window in the house," he continued. His 'siblings' were egging him on.

I turned to face him, "Shut up."

He sneered at me, "Your family must be as bad as you to not kick you out sooner."

"I said shut up!" I stood and grabbed a bow and arrow from one of Manny's 'siblings.' I aimed it at Harry's head and would have fired. I would have if something didn't flash over my head at that same second.

I moved my aim from the idiot to the sign above my head. It was orange flames and wavered a lot, so it took me a second to recognize a small harp. Everyone had stopped what they were doing, and were staring. Manny's table especially.

"What is that?" I asked.

Manny answered me. I wasn't looking at him, but I heard the smile in his voice, "That is the sign of Apollo."

I lowered the bow and arrow and looked at him, "Say what?"

Chiron clopped over to me. As he did, the boy I stole the bow from tentively reached out and took it back while his brother kept a hand on his shoulder like he didn't trust me. Smart kid.

Chiron placed a hand on my shoulder, "This means, Flare, that you are a daughter of Apollo."

Manny added, "That would explain the guitar, if you ask me."

"No one did," I stated.

He shrugged.

Chiron patted my shoulder, "Manny will show you where to go."

So, I followed Manny and the others to their cabin. Apollo's cabin. Apparently, Manny was the senior camper for the Apollo cabin. Since he said he had only been here for five years, it made me wonder how long most of us lasted as demigods.

I got the bed on the far end, by the window. Manny was to my left and the boy I had stolen the bow from was across from me. Next to him, was his twin brother. I sat on my bed and looked around at all of them.

Manny smirked as he flopped on his own bed, "Relax, Flare. You're part of our family now. You've got nothing to. . ."

I cut him off, "I'm going to stop you right there. That word you just used, the 'f' one."

"Family?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, that. I don't believe in that, okay? So don't expect me to like any of this." I laid down and put my back to him. I fell asleep well after they gave up trying to talk to me.

I got a very rude wake up call. I had been sound asleep, my back still facing Manny and the rest of the cabin. The sun was just barely peaking out over the ridge. I felt something warm against my back and moved slightly. I thought maybe it was a lump of blankets. So I thought. The lump just got warmer and warmer until it was burning.

I jumped, falling out of bed, yelling. My back was on fire. I started patting at it, trying to get it to go out. Water was splashed on me. I looked up through my bangs to see the boy I had stolen the bow from the previous night standing over me with an empty glass. I didn't yell at him, since the fire was out.

"Thanks," I muttered. I stood up. The back of my shirt was ruined, as was my bed. A bright red box was sitting on the bed spring. It had burned clear through the blankets and mattress. The box was still on fire, and as we watched, it got smaller and smaller until the flame was out completely.

"What the hell?" I snapped.

Manny carefully picked the box up and set it back on the mattress. He pulled his hands back fast and said, "That's hot."

I glared at him. My back hurt, a lot. I was guessing I had some burns from the stupid box.

Manny looked at me, "It's for you. Open it."

I looked at the box. It was long, and thin. I reached for the lid and found it cold. I opened it and stared. The others crowded to stare too.

Inside was a bow, and a quiver filled with arrows. The bow was brown wood with red, yellow, and orange stripes above the grip and the arrows were black wood with the same colors on the feathers. The quiver was red satin with gold embroidering. On the edge of the quiver, embroidered in gold, was "For my girl." Holy cow. . . Literally.

"Apollo seems to like you, Flare," Manny commented.

I looked at him dangerously. "You mean Apollo, my 'dad' as you put it. . ." Yes, I used my fingers to emphasize the quoting of the word. "Gave me the guitar and now these arrows. If he's trying to get a message through, it's not working."

Manny shrugged, "Maybe he knows you're mad at him and is trying to apologize."

"Not working," I said again, slowly. So, I now know who my dad is. Apollo. God of music, prophecy and healing. He had given me the guitar, and now the bow and arrows. If he was trying to suck me up to him, to get me to not hate him, he was dead wrong. I wasn't going to accept it.

Neither of my parents had been in my life. Not my mom, or dad. They left me with the wicked stepfather and annoying stepsisters. A few flashy gifts weren't going to make anything better.

**Isn't Flare great? Lol**

**Reviews plz!**


	4. Chapter 3

Nothing could get me to change my mind about my dad. Manny tried and tried. I have officially been here for three, going on four years. I was close to eighteen. I still hardly believe in 'family.'

"Alright, let's try this again," I said to my archery class. Manny had stuck me with the newest campers. The ones who had no idea what they were doing at all. "Raise your bows and aim it at the TARGET!"

They did. A few of them fumbled with their bows. I sighed in frustration.

"Fire!"

A few hit the targets, while others went haywire.

I told them, "Retrieve your arrows, and then go do something else."

Most of them ran away from the field. Manny walked by some of them and shook his head.

"Flare, you don't have to scare them," he told me.

I aimed my own arrow at the target and released it. It hit the bulls eye. "Why am I always stuck with the rookies?"

He smiled, "You're the best archer in the camp."

"So?" I asked, shooting another arrow, once again hitting dead center. Something I had learned about the 'gift' from my dad was that I never ran out of arrows. They always replenished on their own.

Manny told me, "Who better to learn from than a master?"

I glared at him as I aimed again. I wasn't even looking when I released, "I'm not that good."

Manny was looking at where my arrow went. I turned to look too. It had hit the bulls eye. . . Again.

"Doesn't count," I told him sternly.

He laughed. "Come on, sis. Lighten up."

He ducked my punch. None of the others tried to call me their sister. I didn't like it. Manny did it because he still tried to get me to accept it. He's been hit more times by me than my enemies in the Ares cabin. Harry and his 'siblings' hated me. The feeling is mutual, too.

"Do not call me that," I said angrily.

He sighed, "Flare, come on. Get used to it. You've been here almost four years and you still don't consider us your family."

"There's no such thing as family," I muttered.

"Yes there is," he said. "I get your stepdad was an idiot, but we want to be your friends. If you'd stop scaring everyone. . ."

"I don't try half the time," I snapped. I glared at the three arrows in the bulls eye. "Everyone's afraid of me before they hear a single word from me."

"Ever thought it's because you always look ready to kill something?" he asked.

I shrugged, "So does Harry and the others, and even they have better luck with people than I do."

He set a hand on my shoulder, "There are other campers who are like me and will talk to anyone who enters the barrier."

I looked at him, "You know that niceness is going to get you killed one day."

It was his turn to shrug, "If it does, than it does. But Flare, if I do die, you take over the Apollo cabin. I need to know you'll be okay with that."

I walked onto the range towards the target. I heard him sigh as I pulled my arrows out of the target. I turned to look at him.

He looked up from the ground with his hands stuffed in his pocket. Dionysus has been pestering him to get an actual life. Manny was twenty going on twenty one. In all technicality, he should have left camp two years ago to start an adult's life in the mortal world. Problem was that he had nothing out there. He always said we were the only family he had.

Also, Manny was the nicest guy in camp, and he had the worst luck in the world. Every time he stepped foot out of the protective barrier, something attacked him. He once got a quest from Chiron, and it was supposed to be simple enough that he'd be back within a week. A month later, when Dionysus told our cabin to get over it and deal with the fact that he was dead, he came stumbling back to camp with three Cyclops on his tail.

He wouldn't survive in the real world. He couldn't really stay here either though. Mr. D didn't want him here anymore. Manny kept telling me that sooner or later I'd be head counselor for the cabin. I'd be in charge of our 'siblings.' Not what I want to hear when I don't even believe that.

Looking at Manny now, I noticed I had missed something. I walked back to him and stood in front of him. He looked at the ground again. He had never been good at keeping secrets.

"Manny," I said. "What's happening?"

He looked at me through his dark bangs. His hair had grown out so it brushed his shoulders. I had found out, when it was day time, that he had natural blonde highlights. His eyes were dark brown, but sometimes you could mistake them for a dark red.

He shook his head, "Nothing at the moment."

I let my arrows fall back into the quiver and said, "Fine. What's going to happen?"

He shook his head again and started to walk off.

"Hey!" I yelled, grabbing my weapon and running after him. "Manny, what's going on, what did you see?"

He ignored me and said, "I need to talk to Chiron."

"What? Wait, Manny!" I yelled as he jogged away from me.

Our cabin was split into divisions. Some of us could heal, some of us saw the future in our dreams, all of us were good at music and some only had music. Manny saw things in his dreams. That's why I was worried now.

**Sorry for taking a while and sorry it's so short ^^;**

**Anywayz, third chapter, enjoy! **


	5. Chapter 4

I sighed in annoyance and turned towards the cabins. I stopped in mid-step when a guy fell in my path after being tackled by Pollux, Dionysus's youngest son. I looked down at the guy.

"Out of the way, Odius," I told him.

"Agh," he cried in frustration. He looked up at me, while keeping Pollux from pinning him at the same time, "Why do I always run into you?"

I shrugged and jumped over both of them, "I don't know. Hi, Pollux."

"Hey, Flare," he grunted as he got pushed off the taller guy.

I continued walking away. Odius was Dionysus's oldest son. He was nineteen I think. Unlike his brother, he was a lesser god, not a demigod. He traveled around the world, learning new things and creating new wines. Like father like son. He came back to camp every now and then to check up on his dad and little brother. Dionysus was here as punishment from his own dad, Zeus. Odius checked to make sure he was sticking to his punishment. He mostly spent his time with Pollux. During the God vs. Titan war, Pollux's twin had been killed. Apparently he didn't take it too well, and Odius tried to fill the void by being a better older brother. For some reason, every time Pollux tackled Odius, he fell in my path. I have stepped on him a few times because I got so tired of jumping over him.

I continued walking until I came to my own cabin. Apollo's own twin sons were sitting on the porch. Cody was sitting on the steps while Cole leaned against the banister.

"Hey Cole, Cody," I said to them.

"Hi Flare," Cody said quietly. He was the youngest of the two, and the one I stole the bow from my first night here. Cody was in our healer division and he played the piano whenever the Hermes cabin could smuggle in a keyboard. He was a quiet boy, but not usually this quiet.

"What's wrong?" I asked, stopping at the bottom of the porch.

Cody shook his head.

Cole answered me, "Manny's been acting weird today, and he won't tell any of us why." Cole was older by a few minutes and only had music talent. He played the violin. Both twins were about the same height, about. Cole was a an inch or two taller than his little brother. Both had long sandy hair like me that fell to just above their shoulder blades and their eyes were blue with hints of orange and yellow.

I sighed, "I noticed." I looked at Cody, "Don't worry about it so much. Manny is Manny."

"But Mr. D is really trying to get him out of camp," Cody told me.

I nodded, "I know. Which I don't get. Pollux is eighteen, but he's allowed to be here for as long as he wants."

"He's Mr. D's son," Cole said. "He won't kick his own son out. I heard he was really pissed when his other son was killed."

I shrugged, "His son or not. We're all sons and daughters of gods. Why is he in such a hurry to send us to our deaths?"

Cole's look darkened a little, "You always were the pessimist." Cole had a very hard time liking me.

I gave him an equally dark look, "I always tell you guys the truth, don't I?"

Cole couldn't hold my look.

"You've got to be worried too," Cody said quietly.

I looked at him. He had his hair out of its usual ponytail and was twirling it around his finger. He looked really down about this. All the cabin loved Manny. Most of them needed Manny, because without this camp and this cabin, they'd have nothing. Cody and Cole were in that group. Their mom had died in an explosion at work five months before I came here. Without this family, they'd have nothing but each other. Honestly, they might be able to survive with just each other. Cody relied a lot on his brother and Cole took his job as a brother seriously.

"I am," I said. "But Manny is Manny. He'll tell us one way or other."

Cody looked down at his other hand that was resting in his lap and nodded. His bow and arrow was resting next to his brother's, which was leaning against the porch railing.

I sat next to him. Cole stood up straight. He never did trust me around his brother.

I set my arm so it was around Cody's shoulder, "I'll talk to him. If it's important, I'll tell him to tell you guys and the rest of the cabin. So stop with the moping, okay?"

Cody looked at me and managed a small smile. He nodded, "'Kay."

I smirked and stood up again. Now to find Manny. . . again. As I walked off again, I saw Cole go back to leaning against the railing. He didn't trust me around Cody because I snapped at a lot of the kids in our cabin. Cody and Cole had been here almost as long as I have and were almost sixteen. Without this camp, they wouldn't have made it past twelve.

I walked towards the Big House. Manny said he had to talk to Chiron, and Chiron wasn't at the archery range. That meant that he was at the Big House. I adjusted the quiver and bow over my shoulder so it wouldn't bother me too much. I didn't wear the usual orange T-shirt. I chose to wear a dark tank top with shorts. I liked the feel of the sun on my shoulders. The tank top was long enough that the burns I had on my back were completely covered.

I found Manny sitting on the steps in front of the faded blue house. He looked up at me when I stopped in front of him. He didn't have his usual chipper smile or happy glint in his eyes.

"The twins are really worried about you," I told him. He looked down at the ground again. "Manny, what is going on?"

He sighed and looked back up at me, "I'm leaving camp this year."

I didn't believe it, "Why? Is Mr. D pestering you again?"

He shook his head, "No, Flare. It's something I have to do." Another sigh, "And I have to do alone."

I knelt in front of him, since he had looked back at the ground. "You can't be serious. The cabin needs you."

He stood with me and set a hand on my shoulder, "The cabin needs someone to look after them. That's why I've been bothering you so much lately. When I leave, you take over."

"Why me?" I asked. "Cole and Cody have been here just as long."

Manny smiled sadly, "Cause as much as you won't admit it, you care for everyone in that cabin as much as I do. This is an example. You came to ask about me because Cody was depressed about it, and you wanted to make him happy again."

I shook my head.

He pulled me into a hug, and I didn't punch him this time. I loosely hugged back.

"You can't leave," I muttered into his shirt.

His grip tightened, "We might meet again, Flare."

I shook my head again, "I'm almost eighteen myself, what's going to happen to the cabin then?" I pulled back to see his expression.

"I talked with Mr. D and Chiron," he started. "You're set for awhile until they think the cabin can handle another change of senior camper." He shrugged, "It was just waiting to happen. Come on, help me tell the others."

"They're going to hate this news," I told him.

He nodded, keeping an arm around my shoulders, "I know."

The next morning, the entire cabin, Chiron, Mr. D, and Odius stood at the top of the hill that led down to the road. Manny hefted his bag over his shoulder and smirked at us.

"Okay guys," he said. "You're killing me here." A lot of the younger ones were crying. They all gave him one last hug and I had to pull a few back or else they would have clung and never let him leave.

"Don't go," Cody cried, hugging him.

"I have to, kiddo," Manny told him. Cole pulled his brother back and let the smaller boy cling to him.

Manny looked at me, "You're in charge, Flare. Just think like me and you'll do fine."

I shocked the rest of the cabin by going to him for a hug. "I'll miss you." There, I admitted it.

He said, "Whenever you need it, you're welcome at my place anytime." He smiled, "Hate it as you like, but you'll always be my little sister."

I nodded, "And you'll always be my pain in the neck older brother."

He smiled wider, "What are siblings for?"

He turned then and walked down the hill to the van. Argus, our camp bodyguard, would drive him to town. From there on, he'd be on his own. We stood on the hill until the van was out of sight.

I felt something tug on my hand and looked down to see that Cody had thought about setting his hand in mine but stopped just above it. I looked at him and he looked back with a tear streaked face. The others were all looking at me too. I went the last few centimeters so we were holding each other's hands. The others swarmed us and we had a group hug of about twelve people. Cole stayed on his brother's other side, and I saw that he hated seeing his little brother sad for any reason.

"Okay guys," I said. They all pulled back and looked at me. Cody wouldn't budge from my side. "Let's head down and get some breakfast. Then we can meet at the cabin, alright?"

"Why the cabin?" one of the younger girls asked.

"We could all use a little music right now," I answered her. I must have said the right thing, because most of them smiled. They started walking back towards camp. As I turned with Cody and Cole to follow them, I saw Chiron's expression. It was one of regret and loss.


	6. Chapter 5

A few weeks went by. Nothing happened, and no one heard from Manny. We all just think he's still alive and somehow making it in the real world. I was having some trouble as senior camper for the Apollo cabin, but I was sort of getting the hang of it. I just didn't know how to work with kids.

I remember someone saying once that fate is always out of your hands. I believed them. Especially since I had absolutely no say in the chain of events that started one night when I came back from a late night patrol.

I was walking in my own suit of armor, with my bow and quiver over my shoulder. I looked up when I neared the cabin and stopped. I was used to seeing Cody upset and Cole comforting him. It surprised me greatly to see the two switching roles on me. Cole was sitting on the steps with his head buried in his knees. Cody was sitting next to him, softly rubbing his back with a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, coming up to them.

Cody looked up at me and shook his head, "I don't know. He just woke up in a sweat and panting. He won't stop shaking."

I knelt in front of Cole, "Hey, what's up?"

He very slowly lifted his head just enough to look at me. His eyes were filled with terror. His face was pale and sweaty. He was shaking hard enough to be visible, even in the dark of the night.

"It's Manny," he muttered. "Something's wrong. I know it."

Cody and I exchanged a look. I stood up and turned to start jogging off.

"Flare?" Cody asked.

I called over my shoulder, "Get him to the Big House."

I jogged up the steps of the house and into the main room. "Chiron!" I called. "Chiron!"

Odius was the first one down, "What are you hollering about?"

"None of your business," I snapped. "Chiron!"

"I'm here, Flare," Chrion came up. "What's wrong?"

"I think Cole saw something concerning Manny," I said.

Mr. D was in the doorway saying, "He doesn't have any physic abilities."

"Explain this then." We looked over. Cody was holding most of Cole's weight with one of his brother's arms over his shoulder and holding it at the wrist and the other arm around his twin's waist. In the light, Cole was even paler than I had thought.

Chiron was at his side, checking him over. "He's in shock. Lay him down, Cody."

I helped Cody lay Cole down on the couch. Chiron covered him in a blanket and went to fetch some ambrosia. Cody sat on the edge of the couch next to his brother. Cole was still shaking.

Mr. D leaned over the back of the couch and looked at him. He frowned, "Odius fetch my supply from the basement."

Odius looked at his father, "What?"

"Get it," Mr. D said again. Odius turned and walked off.

Cody let Cole sit against him so Chiron could try to get him to eat the ambrosia. I sat on the arm of the couch near his feet. I watched quietly and stayed out of the way. Having a lot of healers as siblings, you learn when to just keep your head down and your mouth shut.

Odius returned with a bottle in his hand. He handed it to Mr. D who leaned over Cole again. He had to force him to take a gulp. Cole started coughing and I sat up a bit more.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Special wine," Mr. D answered. "Made to help with major shock victims."

I stared at him, "He's only sixteen."

He shrugged, "It worked."

As much as I hated it, he was right. Cole had stopped coughing and had some color back to him. The shaking had calmed down immensely so it wasn't too visible anymore.

Chiron knelt next to the couch, "Cole." Cole looked at him, leaning most of his weight against Cody. "We need you to tell us what you saw."

Cole pulled the blanket around him and drew his legs up. Cody wrapped his arms around his brother's shoulders. I had seen a similar position with the two, but it had been Cody leaning against Cole in his arms.

Cole's voice was a little raspy, but he started speaking nonetheless, "I was watching Manny walking down a street. It was dark out, except for the street lights. He seemed to be acting normal. There was a bag over his shoulder and he was in uniform for something. Work, I guess. Then something flickered under one of the lights. Manny stopped and looked around. A huge. . . thing dropped down on him. It pinned him."

"What 'thing,' Cole?" Chiron asked.

Cole shook his head quickly, "It was a mix of a bird, bat, and something else. It reeked of death. It's talons had caught Manny in the shoulder, and it seemed to like that it had made him bleed just cause it wanted to. It was huge, too. As tall as the light pole they were next to."

"What happened next?" Chiron asked softly.

Cole leaned further back into Cody and continued, "Someone came out of the shadows. He was tall, and menacing. I didn't get a very good look at him and I was still scared. He was laughing. He said something like, 'Without the chosen one, they'll be defenseless, and I'll be unstoppable.'" Cole looked at Chiron, "That's when I woke up. He started laughing, and I couldn't take it anymore."

Chiron looked a little worried. He gave a sad look to Mr. D, "It has begun, then."

Mr. D nodded, "And they grabbed the wrong one, too. This shouldn't take long."

"Dionysus," Chiron said sharply. Mr. D shrugged.

"What is going on?" I asked. "What happened to Manny and what the heck are you guys talking about?" I was looking between the two men.

They looked at each other. Chiron said, "We must send out the team, Dionysus. They'll find out eventually that Manny is the wrong one and she has to be at Mount Olympus before they do."

Mr. D nodded, "You're right. We'll send them out, but I don't think the usual three to four man team will work, Chiron."

"It's too dangerous to send out too many," Chiron replied.

Mr. D nodded again, "Yes, but it'll give her more chances to get to Mount Olympus and find out what's happening."

"Hey!" I yelled. Everyone except Mr. D and Odius jumped. They all looked at me. Pollux, who had come in without me noticing, ducked behind Odius. I continued, "What is going on?"

Chiron looked once more and Mr. D and sighed. "Flare, there is a prophecy, one that your father saw years ago, that is finally coming into play."

"What prophecy?" I asked. I had my legs and arms crossed in agitation. A little hard to do in the armor and sitting on the arm of the couch, but I managed.

"A corrupted soul will try to steal

All the things we hold dear.

His death lies only in mine hand

Through tears the blow will stand.

The journey not over until his soul itself it dead,

And friend's last words overcome personal dread."

We stared at him.

"Huh?" I said finally.

"'A corrupted soul,'" Odius thought aloud. "Whoever that figure in Cole's vision is."

Chiron nodded, "'Will try to steal all the things we hold dear' would mean the god's seats of power."

"'His death lies in mine hand,'" Mr. D continued. "Means either from Apollo's hand or one of his children" He looked at me. "We all think that means you."

Chiron stood and went off for a few minutes. He returned with a cup of nectar for Cole. I was staring dumbfounded at Mr. D.

"You can't be serious," I said.

Chiron said, "We are. Manny came to us before he left with an ominous dream. He said that this figure will try to change his fate by finding the chosen one first and controlling them. Your brother said, though, that his first attempt would fail and set him back. Enough time to give you a head start. He said specifically you, Flare."

I shook my head, "And you tell me this now? No way."

I stood and started pacing the small space.

"You must leave for Mount Olympus immediately," Chiron told me. "You must talk with your father to get the details."

I scoffed, "Talk with my father? Why doesn't he come here instead of asking me to risk my neck to go the him?"

Chiron looked at me, "Flare, you must go to him or else Zeus won't let him tell you what's going to happen."

"The gods can't interfere with their children," Mr. D said. "But if you go to him, Zeus might allow it. Seeing as you're the only one who can save everyone."

"Flare." I glared back at Chiron. "If this man overthrows the gods, he'll come after their children next."

I looked past him and looked at Cody and Cole. Cole was sitting up on his own with the nectar held in both hands. Cody was still sitting next to him, but he was watching us. Or. . . Me.

I sighed, "Who am I working with on this?"

Chiron smiled and looked at Mr. D, "Who else should we send?"

Mr. D shrugged, "Does it matter as long as they reach Mount Olympus?"

Chiron shook his head, "Not really. It should be a descent strength team, though."

Cody stood fast and said, "We'll go."

Cole did a spit-take in his cup. We all looked at Cody.

I shook my head, "Uh-uh. Definitely not."

Cody walked to me, "Come on, Flare." He took my arm in both his hands. "We can help, and we want to save Manny too."

"Someone has to look after the cabin," I argued.

"Janet can hold things here for awhile," he replied. He lightly tugged my arm, "Please, Flare. Let us come."

I looked at Cole, hoping he'd jump in to talk his brother out of it. He didn't. He looked at me, and I knew the look. It meant he agreed with his brother. He agreed with every word and thought that Cody had.

I sighed, "Fine."

Cody smiled brightly.

"Odius, you too," Mr. D said.

"What?" Odius and I asked.

"I am not working with that jerk," I stated. "He only ever gets in the way." He glared at me and I matched the look over Cody's head.

Odius stated flatly, "Like I want anything to do with you. You're the biggest pain in the neck ever."

I smirked evilly, "I take it you mean that literally since you end up being my walking stone sometimes."

He growled.

Mr. D glared at us both, "Enough, both of you. Odius, you're going. Flake, deal with it."

I sighed in annoyance. Mr. D never got our names right. The only kids he did get right were his own sons. I hated that. I hated favoritism.

Chiron was softly thinking aloud, "That makes four. I think we should have a few more people. One or two maybe."

"Anyone will do if you ask me," Mr. D stated.

Chiron nodded, "Yes, but they have to be good at something. Fighting or hiding. I doubt this man will let them walk straight into the Empire State building. They'll have to hide in plain sight and fight their way through."

Mr. D randomly walked out of the house. We all looked confused. Odius followed him out. Mr. D came back a few minutes later dragging another boy. At first, I wasn't sure who it was.

He was my height, maybe an inch or two taller, with brunette hair that was long enough for him to put in a loose ponytail that ended at just below his shoulders. There was a silver star barrette pinning his bangs off to the left side of his face. He had dark brown eyes to match his hair with perfect black lashes framing them. He was slim figured with not much bulk. His skin had a very slight tan so he didn't look like a complete ghost with the pale complexion. I'm pretty sure that the slight darkening of the skin was natural from him, from his dad.

I liked to laugh at most of the guys here because they looked completely ridiculous in the armor. Honestly, the armor sort of looked like a skirt. Most of the guys here can't pull it off. This guy could. He wore the armor in a way that emphasized the slim figure but showed no opening for a descent hit. I'd admit, he made wearing the armor look good. Not exactly cool, but good.

I knew exactly who this guy was. He was eighteen years old and his name was Guy Brean (pronounced Breen). He was the one and only son of Aphrodite. I pitied him for that because he had to live in a cabin filled with preppy girls. He knew beauty and, being a guy, it made living here hard. It didn't help that his own dad kicked him out for being that way. I don't blame him, I blame his mom.

"Guy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Mr. D. By the armor, I knew that Guy had been on patrol, like me. He may be able to pull off the armor, but he didn't like wearing it most of the time. Not if he could wear designer labels.

Mr. D replied, "Hiding in plain sight. Who better to do so than a child of Aphrodite?"

He had a point.

"What's going on?" Guy asked. He pulled his arm out of Mr. D's grip and adjusted his armor that had gotten messed up when he had been grabbed.

"You're getting a quest," Mr. D replied.

"Huh?" Guy asked.

I was going to give a quick explanation, but instead I said, "Heck no."

Odius glared at me. He was daring me to fight him and I was planning on it now. He had walked in with another person behind him. Someone I hated more than anyone in the world except my stepdad and sisters.

He was overly tall and bulky. The bulk of the muscles stood out against the too small shirt he was wearing. He had greasy black hair and hard black eyes to match. His arms and face were covered in fighting scars that he loved to show off like they were badges of honor. I was going to kill Odius.

Harry frowned at me, "You never said she was going, too."

Odius shrugged, "If I had, you wouldn't have come. Besides, it's her quest, FYI."

Harry glared at him, "I won't work with her."

"You have no choice," Mr. D growled. Guy actually moved a few steps away from him. Guy did have your usual smarts along with all the beauty tip stuff all Aphrodite kids had.

Harry looked like he was going to argue, but Mr. D glared at him and he kept his mouth shut. I was shaking my head, trying not to explode in anger. Cody set his hand on my arm again, as if he didn't trust me not to explode. He shouldn't, since I was very close to doing so.

Chiron nodded, "And this makes the team. The simple task is to get Flare to Mount Olympus. The enemy will make it very difficult to do so, though. So be on your guard at all time and use your heads."

We all nodded.

"Now pack your bags," Mr. D said. "Fan, call the Oracle. Everyone meet at the hill before the sun rises."

We all dispersed. I officially hated this quest, and we hadn't even started yet. I was being forced to work with two guys I absolutely hated. The point of this quest was to talk to me dad about the end of our little godly world. I wasn't looking forward to talking with him at all. Also, I didn't want Cody and Cole in the midst of the danger with me. I could die for all I care, no one would miss my smart ass. Those two would be missed, and they didn't deserve to die.

Guy, I was tolerant of. We weren't friends, but we weren't enemies either. He wasn't much of a fighter, but if it did come down to hiding in plain sight, he was our best bet. We could handle the fighting, but if we could sneak under the bad guy's nose without having to fight, I could handle that too.

Odius and Harry. . . Okay, I'll simply say that working with them, will be worse than eternity in the Underworld in the fields of torture.

Someone shoot me with lightening and kill me now. Just get this over with.

***sigh* it's been a long few weeks. . . I hope you guys don't kill me for not updating constantly**

**Thanks to 112233, and Reviewz-Bookz for the positive reviews **


	7. Chapter 6

Since it was summer, the Oracle was here. She was a strange girl all on her own but I tried not to tick her off. Who knew what kind of future I'd have if I did. I wasn't crazy enough to challenge fate and destiny.

She seemed to understand why I had woken her up before the sun and she invited me into her paint splattered room to sit on a weird colored bean bag chair. She stood over me as I explained the quest to her.

She was going to say something to me and instead said,

"Through multiples cities you must past through

Simply to get to neighboring city too.

During the inevitable battle a life will be lost

And all at the villain's cost.

Once the fight is done

One more errand must be run.

To the depths of the world you must travel

And allow the battle to end and the rest of fate unravel."

She stopped and blinked for a few minutes, "What'd I say?" she asked.

I stood, "Exactly what I needed." And I left.

The guys were waiting at the stables. I had stopped at the cabin, changed and packed my stuff, which I had thrown over my shoulder. I relayed the Oracle's words to them. The twins and Guy stared at me when I was done.

"So someone will die," Mr. D said. "Wonder who."

I glared at him.

"As to not alarm anyone else," Chiron started, "We think you should only take four pegasi to the city. Two on two and one each on the oth. . ."

"You're with me, Guy," I interrupted, pulling him over to my Pegasus.

"Wait, what?" he asked. He had changed out of the armor too and was in what I was used to seeing him in: tight blue jeans, and designer brand shirt and sweater. He wore normal checkered tennis shoes.

The twin's took Cole's Pegasus, and Harry and Odius got their own. I sat on mine, Sunstreak, with Guy behind me.

Chiron looked at us, "Good luck."

I kicked my Pegasus into action first and he galloped a few feet, then took off into the air. The twins were right behind me, followed by Harry, and Odius taking up the rear. We soared up into the air, letting the clouds hide us as we steered our steers towards the Empire State building.

Guy had to sort of shout over my shoulder and wind for me to hear him, "What's going on? No one's told me anything."

I turned my head a little and shouted back, "You remember Manny, right?"

"Of course," he replied.

"He's in trouble," I continued. "Cody saw it in a dream and now we have to talk to Apollo to find out what's going on. Most likely whatever it is will end in a war between the gods and the enemy."

"I thought Cody didn't have any other abilities besides music?" he asked.

I shrugged, "I thought so, too. But he's apparently developed a physic ability as well. I'm not complaining right now, though."

He asked, "Cody told me this quest was to get you specifically to Mount Olympus. I'm guessing you aren't looking forward to getting there."

I replied dryly, "I want nothing to do with a dead beat dad."

He set his chin on my shoulder. It surprised me and I looked out of the corner of my eye to try to see his expression. He seemed to be thinking of something. Something sad.

I faintly heard him mutter, "I feel you on the dead beat part."

I kept him in my peripheral vision. I knew I wasn't the only demigod who hated their god parents. I should have noticed that he might be one of the others. He was a male living in the female world all because of who his mother was. I'm pretty sure he tried to get along with his dad. He was pretty depressed the first few weeks he was at the camp. I remember seeing him sort of sulking around. He wanted nothing to do with his sisters, and from what I see, he still wants nothing to do with them. He doesn't belong. No offense meant to him, but he's more of an outsider at that camp than I am.

**Okay, it's been awhile and I greatly apologize! I blame school, but I can understand if you peoplez blame me. . .**


	8. Chapter 7

We had the building in site. I knew it was the Empire State due to Odius. He had been out of the camp more times than the rest of us. He yelled from the back that we were coming up on it.

I steered Sunstreak towards the tall building. I was going to angle him to land when something flew right in front of us, almost throwing both Guy and me off. I had to clench Sunstreak's mane and Guy had to tighten his grip around my waist. Sunstreak neighed his disapproval of being pulled so hard and scared out of his mind. He hovered in the air as I patted his neck in apology.

"What was that?" I asked.

The others stopped behind and beside us. Cody was looking at us, asking if we were okay while the others were on alert and looking around. Odius had his sword out and Harry had a hand on his axe.

"Look out!" Odius yelled.

I looked up fast and pulled Sunstreak's mane again. He made a quick turn to the side so we barely missed the huge thing again. I choked as the gust of wind blew its scent at us. It reeked of rotting meat.

"It's that thing from Cody's vision!" I yelled. I heard someone curse from somewhere below us.

"Guy, take Sunstreak's mane," I ordered. He removed his arms from around my waist and grabbed the thick black hair.

I reached back and got my bow. I dropped my shoulder so my arrows were easy to grab without hitting Guy. I knocked an arrow in place and aimed at the black blur coming towards us again.

I heard in the distance, "It's after Flare, take it down!"

I fired at it. It screeched and dropped suddenly. It only spun and came back up abrupt idly. It slammed into Sunstreak and we were thrown off. Guy grabbed my hand as we fell.

"Flare!" Cody called.

Cole was going to turn Mooneye to dive after us but Odius yelled, "No! Take that thing down. Harry!"

"Right!" Harry called back. He steered Pigshead into a dive, mirroring Odius and Mauvecharger.

The beast flew by us again and the gust was too much. Our grips were torn apart and we went careening different directions. I blindly saw Guy smack into Harry who had turned to catch him. I was spinning too much to really see.

I did see the huge black speck racing towards me again. I gasped and tried to reach for my arrows, but I couldn't find my bow. The thing was off by a mere centimeter and I spun at the impact, wincing as my side started burning. I looked at it through slitted eyes and thought, _Damn this thing._

I felt a thud behind my eye. It felt oddly familiar, and as it would have happened, the thing's back, where most of the patched fur was, caught fire. It screeched loudly and dived again. It was lost to us in a mere second.

Mauvecharger was under me and Odius caught me. I winced and bit my lip. He set me lightly in his lap and looked at my side.

"Flare!" Cody called again as Cole moved Mooneye next to us. Sunstreak came to hover shakily next to us. He wouldn't let anyone ride him unless I was riding him with them too.

Odius said, "She's hurt. We have to land."

We heard screeching again. It was far off. Cody pressed back against Cole. Guy was looking around in alarm as Harry came down to us as well. He was still on high alert.

"It's too dangerous to land here," he said.

Odius nodded, "We should head west awhile to find a town. We should go far, but she needs help sooner than the town I'm thinking of."

Harry nodded. Odius looked at me, "I know you'll hate it, but wrap your arms around my neck and hang on tight."

I did as he said, my head too fogged with pain to even think about complaining. He maneuvered his arm behind my back so he could keep me sitting up but not bother my quiver. I subconsciously wondered where my bow was. I couldn't think much on it, though. My side was burning worse than the time my back had been burned. Try as I did, I couldn't stay awake. I remember the wind blowing hard enough for me to be pressed against Odius's chest and the smell of grapes, then nothing but the dark of nothingness.

**Flare just doesn't have any luck. Review plz :D**


	9. Chapter 8

I woke up when someone slightly propped me up and made me drink some nectar. I knew it was nectar, because it tasted like honey, but it went down my throat smoothly. I swallowed and blinked my eyes open.

Cody's eyes lit up when I looked at him, "You're awake."

I looked around the small room. It was well kept, and didn't have much in it. I looked back at Cody. Cole had come up to stand next to him and look down at me.

"Where are we?" I asked.

Cole replied, "One of Odius's houses somewhere in Delaware."

I propped myself up on my elbows and rubbed my eyes, "Man, I feel terrible."

Cody said, "According to Odius, the thing that attacked you injected a knock out drug when it injured you. It was supposed to KO you for hours but not until it did some damage."

"What's the damage?" I asked.

They both shrugged. Cole answered, "Not as bad as it could have been."

I let myself fall back on the bed, "Where're the others?"

"Guy's getting some things to hide us with and Harry was sent as his guard," Cody explained.

"'Some things to hide us with?'" I repeated skeptically.

Cole's turn, "New clothes, some hair dye. He's doing what he was put on the team to do, hide us in plain sight."

I sighed. For some reason, I wasn't looking forward to that.

Cody continued, "And Odius went out to get some food and more medical supplies."

I nodded, "Alright. How long have I been out? We're in Delaware?"

Cole nodded, "A few hours. We pushed the pegasi to their limits to go as fast as they could. We didn't want that thing catching up with us."

I raised one arm while the other stayed over my eyes and said, "Thank you."

Cody laughed. "Want some water?"

I nodded, "Please."

They walked off. I watched them and wondered if Cole was being his overprotective brotherly self and staying glued to Cody's side to watch over him. After that thing attacked us, I don't blame him at all. I was guessing Odius had decided to pair us up so we'd have backup if ever needed.

The twins were always each other's partners. They worked so perfectly with each other it'd be stupid to separate them. Harry was a major fight-aholic. He could handle a hard fight long enough for the rest of us to be called in to help. As I said earlier, Guy wasn't much of a fighter, so it was a good idea to pair him with the guy who fought random beasts and other people just because he was bored.

I paused in my thought process. I moved my arms slightly so I could look through them at the ceiling. That meant that I was Odius's partner. Great. . .

I sighed again. I wasn't going to worry about that now. I decided that I wasn't going to stay where I was and got up. My side ached slightly, but the burning was gone. I stood carefully and walked to the living room.

Cody frowned at me, "You shouldn't be pushing yourself, Flare."

"I'm fine," I told him, taking the glass of water.

He just kept frowning at me. The front door opened and Odius walked in with a bunch of bags hanging off his arms. He kicked the door closed behind him and only then seemed to notice us.

"You shouldn't be up yet, Flare," he told me. He walked into the kitchen.

"And? I feel fine," I retorted.

"Feel fine but aren't," he countered. "Lay down or sit down. Just sit still."

"Easy for you to say," I muttered. I went to sit at the small table by the window. Cody started helping Odius put stuff away while Cole leaned against the wall and watched.

Not long after, the door opened again. I heard Harry mutter, "This is ridiculous."

"What is?" I asked.

He looked at me and I had to try not to laugh. He was holding boxes and bags in and on both arms. He frowned at me when he saw me laughing at him. I wanted to compare him to some boyfriends that get suckered into carrying their girlfriend's shopping, but Guy had his hands full too.

He had a large box under one arm and a bunch of bags in the other. He was taking one out of his mouth as he came through the door. I was guessing he had to put it in his mouth to free his hand enough to open the door.

"Looks like you two had fun," I remarked.

Guy smirked at me, "Glad you're okay."

I shrugged, "Nothing I can't seem to handle."

He smiled and asked, "Where should we put this stuff, Odius?"

"Bedroom," Odius replied. "You can work from there and the master bathroom."

Guy nodded and walked into the room I had come out of. I caught that it was the only room in the house. I guess Odius never had anyone over when he traveled about. I sort of wondered why. Didn't he have any friends outside of the camp?

I brushed off the thought with one of my own, Did I care? Nope, I didn't. At least, I think I don't. I don't know.

I rubbed my head with my hand. The glass of water was taken and replaced with an ice cold water bottle. Some pills were set next to it. I looked up at Odius.

He said, "Normal aspirin, for the headache. It should work on you." He went back to the kitchen.

I watched him walk away for a minute. I looked at the pills and took them. I set the water bottle against my head and closed my eyes, willing the throbbing to stop. The throbbing reminded me of something.

"That thing caught fire," I said aloud.

"Yeah," Cody said, stopping what he was doing and looking at me. "How did you do that?"

I shook my head, "I don't know. I've only done it once before."

"You've done it before?" Odius asked.

I nodded, "To my stepsister, when she tried to smash my guitar. It's what got me thrown out."

Odius leaned against the wall facing me, "It saved our tails this time. Maybe we should figure out how it works."

I shrugged again, "Have fun trying."

He gave me a hard look. I ignored him. I was not interested in learning how to do that on a regular basis. I'd take my bow and arrows over anything else any day.

"Where's my bow?" I asked.

"They're next to the bed," Odius answered. "Your bow smacked into me when it flew off." He turned a little and I saw the red line on his arm from where he had blocked it from hitting his face.

I should have laughed, but I didn't. I went back to putting the bottle against my forehead.

Harry came out quickly and planted himself on the couch, "I am not going along with this."

Odius looked at Guy coming out of the bedroom, "What's his problem?"

Guy replied, "He doesn't like the idea of getting a hair cut or covering the scars up."

"I will not wear make up!" he called from the couch. "Nor will I ever cover up these. They are to show I am a warrior."

"You are an idiot," I countered. "I don't care if you hate it, but I don't want to deal with that. . . Thing again. If changing our looks will keep it off our backs for awhile, then we'll do that. Get over it."

He turned to glare at me and I glared back. The headache was taking its sweet time going away and his complaining was just plain annoying. And I was telling the truth when I said I didn't want to go against that thing again. Once was plenty enough for me, thanks.

Odius stepped in, "Enough, both of you. Harry, we have no choice. It's only until we get to Mount Olympus."

Harry grumbled something I couldn't hear. I ignored him.

Odius turned back to Guy, "Can you start first thing in the morning?"

Guy nodded, "Sure."

Odius nodded in reply and said, "Then let's get some food and then some rest."

I stood up and walked by Guy, "I'll pass on the food, thanks."

I felt a churning in my stomach and bolted for the bathroom. I made it in time to throw up something disgusting. I coughed at the taste and tried to stop the nauseas feeling that was making my head spin.

I felt my hair get pulled back gently and whoever it was kept it back for me. They knelt behind me and rubbed my back lightly. I couldn't see who it was through the watering eyes and the fact I had them squeezed shut.

I'm sure you've all gotten sick at least once before. It's not fun to throw up, especially when there isn't anything in your stomach. It hurts and it sucks. I know that. . . Now at least.

I finished another coughing fit and panted. Whoever was behind me reached over and flushed. They pulled me back lightly and leaned me against the edge of the bathtub. I heard them stand and the water started in the sink. A few seconds later, something cool was pressed against my forehead.

I cracked an eye open. Odius was kneeling next to me, pushing some stray strands of hair out of my face. He saw me looking at him and shrugged.

"Apparently the drug they used isn't working with your system," he said. "It's rejecting it pretty badly."

"You think?" I asked sarcastically. My voice cracked.

He held up my bottle of water. He helped me sit up with an arm around my shoulders and held it to my lips. I drank it and immediately felt my throat stop burning.

"The twins will take the room," he said. "That way Guy can work on them first thing in the morning. He'll be in the room, too. Harry will sleep in the hall till morning then come in here."

I leaned back against the tub again. He fixed the washcloth so it was still over my forehead. It slightly went over my eyes, but there was still enough of a crack for me to look at him.

"You can take the couch in the living room," he continued. "This way you can get as much rest as possible without anyone disturbing you by moving around."

I turned my head so my cheek was against the bathtub, "Where are you sleeping? It's your house."

He nodded, "Yeah, but I'll be out with you. We can't have you attacked right now."

I looked at him, "When did you start caring?"

He looked back, "When Chiron pointed out that this guy would go after the god's kids if he won."

"Scared?" I asked.

He shook his head and replied calmly, "Not for me."

He stood up and went to the door. He stuck his head out the door and said something. Guy answered and there was some rummaging noises. Odius took something from him and turned back to me.

"You can shower or take a bath," he offered. "It might help." He set some clothes on the sink. "Come on out when you're done and you can go back to sleep."

He left then, closing the door softly behind him. I stared at the wood for a few minutes before pushing myself up to sit on the edge of the tub. The washcloth dropped in my lap and I ignored it. I started the water and stared at it as it filled the white tile. I glanced at the door again.

Okay, I'll admit it. I think a little more of the jerk now. He was helping me and being nice to me for the same reason I was on this stupid quest in the first place: to protect our younger brothers. He had Pollux, and I had the twins. I'd say that was common ground for a fighting partner.

The couch had a sheet and blanket already on it when I came out. The others took their posts in their spaces. Odius had found some air mattresses that Harry, Guy and Cole would use. Cody got the short straw and had to take the bed (Cole wouldn't let him argue).

There were some more blankets on the floor in front of the couch and Odius was sitting on them. I guess he ran out of air mattresses. He didn't seem to care, though. I lay on the couch, wrapping myself into a ball with the blankets as close as I could get them.

I fell asleep fast. Odius was still sitting there watching me when I passed out again.

**Three updates in a row to make up for not updating sooner **


	10. Chapter 9

It's not unusual for demigods to have dreams. I should be used to things like this. . . So why aren't I?

I was standing in a dark space. There was weird red light on the walls. I couldn't make sense of the shadows or shapes the light showed.

The one thing I did make sense of was Manny. He stood in front of me, almost looking right at me. There were two ugly looking dog-men on either side of him. Each held one arm that were tied at the wrists behind his back.

Manny's clothes were torn and tattered. There was a gash on his left shoulder and a bruise on the right side of his face. His face was blank as I stared at him. There was no hint of fear or pain in his dark eyes. Not even a flash of red that was usually seen on a normal day or when he was really worked up about something.

There was movement behind me and I jumped to the side. A tall man walked by me. I couldn't see complete features in the shadows without getting a headache, so I stopped trying.

He walked towards Manny, with his arms crossed behind his back. Manny watched him with his eyes, not turning his head.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say your pet failed," Manny said as the man circled behind him.

I saw the man's teeth glint as he smirked, "You'd be guessing correctly Mr. Juarez."

Manny watched him as he circled back into his vision. He stopped right in front of him and looked down at him. He was so close that it should have intimidated Manny, since this guy had a good half a foot on him.

"Where is she?" the man growled.

"How should I know?" Manny asked back.

There was a flash of white and a loud smacking sound. I saw Manny's head jerk violently. I stepped forward without thinking. I stood to the side of Manny and looked at him. Another bruise was forming on his left temple.

Again, he seemed to look right at me. He whispered, "Don't worry about me, Flare. Just get to Olympus, and hurry. I can't stall forever."

The dream started to fade. Manny kept my eye contact until everything had blacked out again.

**I'm working on updating quicker. Reviews help!**


	11. Chapter 10

There was very faint mumbling. It was faint enough that I could ignore it easily. I sort of did, too. What woke me up wasn't the mumbling. It was the feeling of being watched and a sense that it was time to wake up. I felt a strip of sunlight on my face from the crack in the blinds. It kept bugging me until I was awake.

I blinked my eyes open slowly and unclenched my ball a little. I caught movement and looked over to see Odius sitting up with his back against the couch. He had his head turned to look at me.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Coming up on noon," he answered.

"Shoot," I mumbled.

He said, "It's alright for you to sleep in today. You weren't doing so hot last night."

"If that last was sarcasm, I'll shoot you," I told him. I rubbed my eyes. That dream had bothered me, but that was Manny. I needed to get him out. It seemed that the only way to do that was to talk to my father. I had to see Apollo.

I think he smirked at my comment, but I couldn't tell since he covered his expression quicker than I could blink.

I sat up and stretched. I felt a heck of a lot better than I had last night. I wasn't feeling sick to my stomach, finally. I rubbed my eyes again and tried to wake myself up fully.

"If you want," Odius started. "Guy's done with the others. You can go before me. I need to get lunch started anyway."

"Okay, I guess," I replied.

I knocked on the bedroom door. The mumbling quieted and Harry opened the door. He nodded to me and stood out of the way of the door.

I looked at him, "What's with you?"

He looked at me questionably, "What do you mean?"

"You're being somewhat nice," I pointed out.

He shrugged. He had an uncomfortable look on his face. It meant he was too proud to admit why he was acting like this. I ignored him. I'd bug him later about it. I looked at the others.

The twins were on the bed and Cody smiled at me, "Hi."

"Hey," I replied.

I had to take a double look at all of them. Harry was no longer black haired and eyed. His hair had been washed so it was grease free. It had been cut a little shorter and dyed a dark brown color. He was wearing contacts that matched. His face and arms were free of scars. He was wearing black jeans with chains hanging off the belt loops. His blood red T-shirt had darker red, black and white blood splattered designs on the left shoulder and down the back. The shirt was a bit big, even for him, so his bulging muscles were well hidden.

The twins' hair had been dyed so they were both light brunettes. The hair had been styled into French braids behind their heads. They were wearing chocolate brown contacts that hid the sparks of color in their eyes. Cody was wearing dark red shorts down to his knees and a black undershirt under a dark grey jacket. Cole had on tight blue jeans that were ripped at the knees with a studded belt. He wore a light blue shirt that had the sleeves cut off and a jean vest over it that stopped just above his stomach.

I looked at Guy. He hadn't changed. He was standing in the bathroom doorway, wiping his hands on a towel. The bags and boxes from the day before were strewn almost all over the room. I could see the bunch of things on the bathroom counter from where I stood.

Guy smiled and nodded behind him, "Your turn."

I walked into the bathroom and he sat me on the toilet seat. He brushed out my hair and started mixing some hair dye. The way he had brushed it had messed up my usual part and my bangs fell into my face. I pushed them back.

"Have you ever thought about putting your hair up, or pinning it back?" Guy asked me. He came back and started applying the hair dye.

"No," I replied simply.

"It might help," he said. "I notice you yanking on your hair whenever you're on the shooting range."

"I didn't know you hung around there," I remarked.

He shrugged, "I tried to be wherever my sisters weren't."

I looked at him through the mirror. He tilted my head to the side and continued with the dye.

"Why do you stay if you can't stand them?" I asked.

He didn't look at me and answered, "Nowhere else to go. I know you've heard that my dad kicked me out."

I went to nod and he stopped me. I muttered, "Sorry." He smiled at me and went back to work. I continued with what I was going to say, "I know that feeling."

"Not entirely," he replied.

"How so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're stepdad kicked you out," he explained. "Plus, from what I hear, you two never got along at all anyway."

"You and your dad did?" I asked.

His hands slowed a bit and he got a far off look on his face. Slowly, he stopped applying the dye and sort of stared off to the side.

"Guy?" I asked, turning to look at him.

He jumped, "Huh? Oh. . . Sorry, Flare." He turned my head back towards the mirror and continued working. I watched him through the mirror.

After he had applied the dye, I sat there for awhile to let it sit. He got rid of the gloves and got the scissors and comb ready. He rinsed the dye out and started cutting it. He cut it so it stopped just above my shoulder blades.

He straightened it and told me it was a straightening treatment that would last a few weeks. He went out into the other room and I heard him dig around.

"Harry, where's that one bag?" he asked. "The. . .uh. . . The brown one, I think."

Harry replied, "There were three brown ones, which one?"

"Where are the three?"

"In the corner," Harry replied.

More rummaging. Guy muttered, "There's that, but where's the. . ."

"Almost done?" I heard Odius ask.

"Almost," Guy replied. "She has the longest hair out of all of us, so it's no surprise she took this long to dye. Ah, there it is."

I heard a choked laugh. Cody said, "She'll clobber you if you tell her to wear that."

Cole added, "She won't do it."

Guy said, "That's the backup outfit, guys. This is the one for now."

"Oh," Cody said. "That she'll wear."

"Backup outfit?" Harry asked.

Guy replied. "I doubt this is the only change we're going to have to make. I just thought ahead."

Odius snickered, "If we do have to change again, she's going to kill you."

Guy's reply got louder as he came back to the bathroom, "You said we had to blend into wherever we are."

Odius replied, "Yeah, I know."

Guy came into the room and handed me some clothes. "Go ahead and change." He stepped back out.

The jeans were tight and set low on the hips. The shirt was loose and hung off the shoulders to wear the bra straps showed. I wasn't sure what to make of that part of it. The shirt was slightly short to where my stomach showed a little. I stared at myself in the mirror and said through the door, "You have an odd sense, Guy."

I heard him chuckle outside the door, "Why do you say that?"

I opened the door and stared at him with a hand on my hip. He tried not to laugh at me.

"Come on, Flare," he said. "You look good."

I glared at him. More stifled laughter made me glare at the twins. Harry had a smirk on his face and Odius was staring at me.

I almost wanted to slam the door on them but Odius said, "You look fine, Flare. Better than the other one."

"I don't want to know," I said.

Guy came over and clipped something into my bangs, handed me a small box and said, "With that, you're done."

I stepped back and looked at the mirror. There were two green clips in my hair that matched the shirt. I added the contacts which turned my eyes green and stared at myself. My hair was strawberry blonde and mixed with the green eyes.

"I guess it's pretty good," I admitted.

Guy laughed, "I'll take the compliment. You're turn Odius."

I sat with the others in the living room and ate as we waited. Odius came out not long afterwards. His hair had been dyed to be dark brown, and his eyes matched. Personally, and I'll deny it if anyone tells, I liked the black hair and wine colored eyes better. He was wearing baggy jeans with a black tank top that was long, even for him. He had a jacket tied around his waist.

"Alright," he said. "When Guy's done we'll head out by car. Once we get closer to New York, we can catch a train."

We agreed to that. Guy came out with dirty blonde hair and grayish eyes. His hair had been pulled back and pinned at his neck. He had his usual clip keeping it all back. This was the first time I had ever seen him in anything baggy. Baggy jeans and a shirt that was a little too big.

"Ready when you guys are," he said.

Odius nodded, "Alright. We'll split into two teams. One will take my car and the others will use the backup one. Okay?"

We all nodded. I asked, "Who's on what team?"

He thought, "The twins and Harry can take the backup. You, Guy and me will take mine."

I gave him a doubtful look, "Don't kill us before we get there."

He gave me a hard look as the others laughed. I shrugged. He sighed, we packed up, and were off again.

**Updates and reviews makes the writer's world go round!**


	12. Author's Note

**I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, (goes on for a while) really sorry that I kind of died on this story T-T I lost inspiration on it for a while, but I finally found my old notes for it and have gotten back to writing it. I've managed to write out a few chapters ahead now, so I will continue to post chapters to this really soon.**

**Well, I mean, if any of you are still interested in this story…..**

**I'll post another chapter really soon, I promise! Either by the end of today or tomorrow. If anyone still likes this story, please let me know….It makes me feel a little better.**

**And again, I'm really sorry for dying out DX**


	13. Chapter 11

Odius and Harry had cell phones. I felt a little left out, especially since this was sort of my quest. Odius seemed to be ignoring whatever I had to say.

"Shouldn't we all have cell phones?" I asked. "Just in case we get separated?"

He didn't look at me as he answered, "If you get separated from us, we're in trouble. Do us a favor and don't wander off."

I glared at him, "I'm not a child that likes to go after something shiny."

He glared at me for a second and went back to watching the road, "Just do what I say."

I sat up from leaning against the door. Guy was sitting behind Odius with one leg brought up under him. He was looking between us.

"This is my quest," I reminded. "I don't listen to morons who think they're all that and a bag of chips."

He turned to me, "We're your guards. We're here to make sure you finish your quest. I hope you're. . ."

"I am aware of that," I cut him off.

He continued as if I hadn't spoken, "Listen to those protecting you."

"You've been ignoring me and treating me like a preschooler," I said. "I am ready to shoot my so-called guard."

He rolled his eyes, "That's always your threat. Can't you do anything else?"

"Odius," Guy snapped from the back.

"What?" he snapped back, looking in the mirror at Guy. I don't know what look Guy gave him, but he looked at me and dropped the pissed off look. He actually looked sorry.

I leaned against the door again.

"I didn't mean that, Flare," Odius apologized.

"Go ahead," I muttered, staring out the window. "Mean it. Shooting is the only thing I'm good at."

"That's not true," Guy said.

I sighed, "Yes it is."

It was quiet for a few minutes. Guy actually kicked Odius's chair. Odius glared back at him, and I'm pretty sure that Guy glared back.

Odius said, "It's not."

"Name something then," I challenged.

He watched the road, "You're good at the guitar, and, along that, singing."

"That's not a talent," I said.

"Yeah it is," he replied. "Maybe not to you since it runs in the family, but you're really good at it."

I looked over at him. He pretended to ignore me.

"The campfire sing-a-longs got fun with you around," he muttered.

I sat up again and stared at him. Even Guy was staring at him. He had just complimented me. Never, in all the years we've known each other, have we ever been nice enough to complement each other. He continued to ignore us as he switched lanes on the freeway.

Guy and I exchanged surprised looks before I leaned back in my seat again. Honestly, my threat wasn't all that great. We weren't allowed to have our weapons out in plain sight in case we passed a cop. Odius and Guy had knives on them. My bow and arrows were pushed under the seat as far as we could make them. We had some of the other bags of stuff on the floor behind me to hide most of it. It was quiet again. Luckily for us, though, it wasn't strained anymore.

Odius broke it again, "I don't mean to make you feel like we're ignoring you, Flare. I just want to see this quest finished without a hitch."

"There will always be hitches in quests," I told him. "But this is my quest. In the end, I'm the one who has to talk to Apollo. I have to get Manny back."

He smiled slightly, "That's another thing you're good at, Flare."

"Huh?"

He smiled at me, "You're a great sister."

**Right, so, as promised, here is the next chapter ^ ^ I had forgotten how short this one was because it was supposed to be a fluffy little filler, so I'll be posting the next one up tonight as well. Also as a bit of an apology…..**


	14. Chapter 12

It got dark, and Odius switched with Guy. Guy and I both looked at him like he was crazy when he pulled off to the side of the freeway and said, "You're up, Guy."

Guy leaned forward slightly and said, "I can't drive, Odius. I haven't been out of the camp in years."

"Not true," Odius said, getting out. He leaned back in and looked at Guy, "I know you got some pointers."

I saw Guy's eyes flicker and he looked down at the floorboards.

Odius continued softly, "I can't drive all day and night. Flare knows next to nothing about driving considering she hasn't been out of camp since longer than you've been there. Come on, Guy."

Guy looked at him and sighed, "Alright." He got out and they switched. Guy was now in the driver's seat and Odius was sitting behind him.

Guy pulled back onto the freeway. I could tell he wasn't too thrilled to be driving by the tension in his arms.

"Relax," I told him. "You can't be as bad as Harry." I looked thoughtful and then glared at nothing, "He better not kill the twins with his road rage."

Guy chuckled to himself and a little of the tension eased. "I don't think he will. He'll try to avoid it."

"And fail to avoid it," Odius inputted.

We laughed. Guy looked over at me, "Get some sleep, Flare. You've been up all day."

"I didn't even get up until noon," I replied.

Guy shrugged, "Still. Car rides can make you tired."

"Not true," I yawned. I heard Odius stifle a laugh. "Shut up," I muttered. I propped my arm against the door, setting my head on it.

I wasn't out for an hour when I got a rude wake up call. For some reason, people liked to wake me up in the worst ways possible. We had been driving down an almost deserted stretch of road. Harry and the twins had rejoined us and were a few feet behind us. There were two other cars, one ahead of us and another behind the others.

The one ahead of us cut us off, causing Guy to slam on the brakes and veer sharply to the side. I hit my head on the window and shot up, "Ow!"

Odius was leaning forward, "What is he doing?"

Guy replied, "I don't kn. . . Shoot!" Again, he slammed onto the brakes as the guy ahead of us clipped us. We were pushed into the dirt that separated the different ways on the freeway. Guy fought the steering wheel so we wouldn't have to do donuts.

The car stopped. A second later, the other car rammed into Harry's car, pushing him into the dirt to join us. We took our queue and got out of the cars, our weapons drawn.

Odius came around to stand in front of me. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

His reply was, "My job. Stay back and stay quiet."

Four buff guys got out of the other cars. All were extremely tall and extremely buff. Watching them get out of those cars was like watching dozens of clowns getting out of those tiny bug cars. These guys were bigger than Harry.

It was eight to six now. Not too bad odds, but still bad enough for Odius to tense up as he evaluated the situation. Cody and Cole knocked an arrow apiece into place and aimed at the guys. Their arms were steady as they aimed down the shaft of the arrow. We were children of Apollo. That meant we were the best archers in camp.

I knocked an arrow in place, but didn't aim. Odius was still in front of me. Guy came around to stand next to me. He had a backpack on and I wondered where he had gotten it from. Harry had another one on his back.

One of the guys drawled, "Hand over the girlie and you twigs won't die today."

"Twig?" Harry snapped. "Who do you think you're calling a twig Treetrunk?" I rolled my eyes. He was off. Great, this was just going to go downhill from here.

The guy slowly turned his head to look at Harry. "You think you're tuff, son of Ares. You're just like your daddy, though."

"Oh yeah?" Harry asked. "How so?"

The man sneered, "All bark and no bite."

That did it. Harry launched forward at the line of tuff looking lumberjacks. Odius yelled, "Harry, wait!" The guy didn't listen. Odius growled, "Flare, you and the twins cover us."

I nodded. Cole and Cody came over to flank me as Odius ran in with Harry. Guy stayed back with us. The twins and me aimed our bows and fired at the line of muscle. Three of them broke off from the group and dodged Odius and Harry. They headed for us. Guess what, though. . . Our arrows kept bouncing off of them!

"What are these guys made of? Steel?" Cole asked. He shot another arrow. "It's not helping!"

"I know, I know," I said. "Look out!" The four of us jumped out of the way before we got slammed by the charging guys. I leaned back to avoid a fist and let the momentum pull me back into a back flip. I kicked the guy just under the neck as my legs came up. He stumbled back, but wouldn't fall.

I landed and jumped back a few feet. A second later I hopped onto one foot, "Holy cow! I think they are made of steel, that hurt!"

A shout from Cody and a loud crunch made me look over. Cody had dodged a punch from another guy and the car had been hit instead. It was dented and almost bent in half.

"Whoa," I said.

Cody looked at the car, "You're kidding, right?" Cole grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the way of another hit.

I looked for Guy. He was easily dodging the third guy's attacks. He ducked and jumped and turned in the right way at the right times. It reminded me a lot of dancing. Guy backed up into the guy attacking the twins and ducked just in time to avoid a punch from the one chasing him. Its punch went straight through.

We stared at it. The one guy's arm was stuck in the other's stomach now. I could see wires and a round motherboard. These guys were just robots. But if a hit through the stomach doesn't kill them, then what would?

_Think Flare. _I jumped and looked around. There was no one else on the road. It was completely deserted except for us. Where did that voice come from?

Another voice added to it. _You know a little about these things, Flare. We know you do._

That voice I remembered. It had led me to Camp Half Blood. That confused me though. That was a female's voice. The one I had just heard was male. This was so confusing.

_You have it in you, Flare. _the male voice continued. _You've already done this twice now, haven't you?_

I stared at the motherboard. Computers all had to have fans to keep them from overheating. That was it.

I yelled to the others, "Expose the motherboards! It's the heart of these things."

"And then what?" Harry growled.

"And then this," I replied, glaring at the motherboard that was exposed now. I felt a thudding in my head and it burst into flames. The two linked machines stared at the flames. A few seconds later, the one blew up, taking the other out with it.

I got knocked to the ground with my ears starting to ring. I blinked my eyes open to try to see through the dust. I saw Harry with a huge evil grin on his face as he threw a robot into another one. It hit it hard enough for the back to come off and for me to see the motherboard. I glared at that too and they were gone.

The shock shook the ground and kicked up more dust into my face. I still couldn't hear anything. Odius knocked another two together and Guy tripped another to add to the pile. Harry threw the other one in and I set those on fire as well.

At that explosion, parts of robot rained down on us. It crushed some of the cars and the fire was bright and it hurt to look at. I could feel the heat from a few feet away. I sat up carefully, trying to steady my shaking limbs.

I stood up carefully and looked around. The others had been knocked back at some point or other and were all regaining their footing as well. My ears were still ringing.

I was slowly regaining my hearing as I looked for my bow. I still had the quiver, but I wanted my bow back in my hand. That always seemed to be the thing that I lost in a fight. I'd have to fix that.

The first thing I heard was Cody yelling, "Flare! Flare, look out!"

I looked up in time to see him jump over a piece of rubble and push me. I fell back hard, ironically next to my bow, and noticed that he hadn't fallen with me. Then I heard a screech that I had come to fear and hate at the same time.

I looked up fast in time to see it fly back up and screamed, "Cody!"

I was in a kneeling stance with an arrow in place faster than I had ever been and was going to fire up at the huge thing. Odius grabbed my arm and pushed it down, "You'll hit Cody unless you have a good enough shot!"

I stared back up at the sky, but I couldn't see it. I shook my head, "No. No!"

I heard Cole shouting something. Harry had him in a firm grip as he tried to kick out of it, "Cody!" Guy was looking at the sky, trying to get a lock on the thing.

Odius made me look back at him, "They won't kill him, Flare. He's safe until they get you."

I was still shaking my head and muttering, "No. No." over and over.

Odius loosely wrapped his arms around me. He was hesitant, like he thought I'd shank him for it. I was too dazed to even think of it. Cole had stopped struggling and he sank to his knees when Harry finally put him down. He punched the ground and screamed. I looked over at him over Odius's arm.

I pushed away from him and went over to Cole. He was actually crying. No, sobbing. I knelt next to him and hugged him. He clung to me. I felt myself crying. My shoulders shook and I tightened my grip on Cole. He already had a death grip on me.

"Not Cody," he cried. "Not my brother."

I buried my head in his hair. I said nothing, but in my head, I was praying to anyone who would listen. Please let him come back to us safely.

A star shot across the sky above us.

**This is where things start moving forward a little more….**

**Good news is that I almost have this story completely written out, so updates should be coming a little faster. To anyone who's still reading this after all this time, I love you guys and I'm really sorry that it's taken so long for me to get back to this….**


	15. Chapter 13

We hitchhiked a ride to the nearest town. The college guys thought we had gotten into a car crash and Odius played along with it. If that was what the humans saw, then we'd go with it. Better than trying to explain the explosions. The story came out to be that Harry was driving with his 'brother,' Guy, in one car while Cole had been driving with me, his sister, and Odius, my 'boyfriend', in the other. He played it that Cole was so broken up because he felt so guilty for causing the crash. Guy and Harry both assured the college guys that we were all okay; we just needed to get back to town. Guy and Harry found some way to hide our weapons. I wasn't paying attention.

I looked at Odius when he walked over to Cole and me. We had been sitting on the side of the road while they came up with their brilliant lie.

"Is he okay?" he asked.

I looked at Cole sitting next to me. He was in a ball and was rocking back and forth. I had a hand on his back and whenever I moved it off of him; he shot up fast and looked at me with panic in his eyes. For someone who used to hate me, he was desperate to stay near me.

I looked back up at Odius, "How would you feel if your twin was just taken from you?"

He looked at me and I saw something along the lines of haunt flash beneath his contacts.

I nodded, "Yeah, like that."

He nodded, looking down at Cole. "He was just as bad as this."

I rubbed my hand in circles around Cole's back. "There's a difference though, and I don't mean to offend you or your brother with this statement."

He looked back at me, "I know where you're heading. The difference is that he won't come back, ever."

I met his haunted look and said, "It wasn't your fault."

He stared at the ground, "If I had at least been there to help he might still be. . ." His fists clenched together.

I reached out a little and took his hand. He jumped and looked at me. I met his look, and I knew I had the same one on my own face.

He took my hand and whispered, "It wasn't your fault, either, Flare. He just wanted to protect his big sister."

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" I asked. He sat next to me and moved his hand from mine to wrap around my shoulders.

"It usually is the other way around," he agreed. "But sometimes it can work both ways."

I set my head against his shoulder, pulling Cole over to me. He buried his head in my shoulder and clung to my arm that I wrapped around him. Guy came over to us and looked at us.

"They'll give us a ride," he told us. "Some of us can sit in the cab and the rest of us can sit in the bed of the truck."

Odius nodded, "Flare and Cole can sit in the cab. The three of us can sit in the back."

Guy nodded. He waited until we stood and walked with us back to the truck. The college guys were really nice to Cole and me on the drive back. They tried to cheer Cole up by saying that they had been in a crash last year. When they saw it wasn't helping, they stopped trying and talked to me. I had to come up with my own lie when they started asking about Odius and me. Luckily the window behind me was open, so Odius could cut in. He was better at coming up with things right now.

The college guys dropped us off at a hotel in the next town. They refused Odius and Guy's offers to pay them for driving us and left after they saw we had gotten rooms. Not all humans are complete jerks.

Odius had gotten one room. He thought it would be better if we all stayed close to each other. I shared a bed with Cole, who was being as clingy as Cody could be, while Guy got the other bed. Harry fell asleep leaning back in the desk chair. I wasn't sure what Odius did because he was still awake when I passed out, and was up when I woke up the next morning.

"What now?" Guy asked.

Odius sighed, "We change again. We tried a subtle change and that didn't work. It has to be bigger this time."

Guy nodded, "I can do that as long as you guys don't kill me for it."

Odius told him, "I won't and Cole probably won't react at all. Harry and Flare are the one's I'd look out for."

Guy smirked, "Thanks, Odius. That helps a lot." Odius smirked back.

He continued, "I'll go out with someone to check where we are. And to try to find another means of transportation."

"Can I go?" I asked.

Odius looked at me. He wasn't sure. Guy backed me up, "That'd be a good cover. You could act as a couple. I said act!" He defended when we both turned death glares on him. He sighed, "Honestly guys?"

Harry surprised us, "I agree with him." We all stared at him. He shrugged, "You two can move around better than the rest of us right now."

Odius and I looked at each other. We both sighed. Guy took that as consent and grabbed Odius, heading towards the bathroom. "Then on with the makeover."

"It still bugs me you can do that," Harry muttered. I threw a pillow at him and glared at him. Odius distracted Guy quickly so he wouldn't dwell on the comment.

When the door closed I glared at Harry. "What?" he asked.

"Do you have to put everyone down?" I asked back.

He shrugged again, "It is in my nature."

I was close to throwing the vase on the table next to me at him. "We're all on the same team here, Harry. Hold off the insults until we get back to camp."

He looked at me hardly, "Will we make it back to camp?"

I gaped at him.

"The Oracle said someone would die, Flare," he said. "Someone will die in the fight. She didn't say anything about the in between. What happens before the fight? We're one down as it is."

I stared at him, "You're not scared, are you?"

His look turned dangerous, "Who are you calling scared?"

I just looked at him. Cole was sitting up next to me, but wasn't clinging anymore. I let the statement go. Harry was a little scared. You had to be an idiot to not fear death. Unless you were death itself. We weren't death.

Harry was the son of the God of War. Guy was the son of the Goddess of Love. Odius was the son of the God of Wine. Cole and I were son and daughter of the God of Music, Medicine, Poetry, Archery and Bachelors. We were nowhere near being related to death. Cole and I were the opposite. Why shouldn't we be scared?

Guy came out of the bathroom awhile later and stood looking at us, "What'd we miss?"

Harry looked at me. I bet he was thinking I would tell Guy he was scared. I said, "Nothing, we were just talking about the quest."

Harry looked surprised. Guy's eyebrow rose, but he didn't press. The bathroom opened behind him and Odius stepped out. He was in blue jeans with a thick brown belt around his waist. He wore a long sleeved white shirt that was tucked into his pants. There were only two buttons at the top and they were unbuttoned. The collar was a deep V with the flaps folded around his neck. There was a black vest over the shirt and it hung open neatly. His hair was a light brunette and was neatly pinned back at his neck. His eyes were chocolate brown but these contacts gave flashes of his original wine color. The outfit was topped with black boots. I felt my mouth drop.

I closed it before anyone noticed.

Guy said, "I looked around last night and saw that this town is pretty fancy. You should blend in with the rich kids like this."

"Okay," Odius said slowly. He wasn't very comfortable being stared at. I wasn't sure why. He was avoiding my gaze; that I noticed.

I looked at Guy when he looked at me. He nodded to the bathroom and I walked in. Once again he set to dying my hair and cutting it. He gave it a bit of a layer so it wasn't cut straight across my back and dyed it to be a dirty blonde, almost brown. I didn't mind the cut, or the teal contacts he gave me. I didn't complain about the dark grey barrettes he put in my hair either. I did mention that he was crazy when he showed me the outfit.

He looked at me, "Odius said we had to go drastic. Come on, Flare."

I shook my head and crossed my arms, "I am not wearing that."

He set a hand on his hip and matched my look, "We aren't arguing this. You have to wear this to blend in."

"Does it have to be that?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yes, it does."

My shoulders dropped. He smiled triumphantly and left so I could change. I stared at the clothes and reluctantly put them on. I went out. Now everyone stared at me.

The shirt was a dark grey halter that clung to me like second skin. Across the back that came around the arms to meet at a clasp at the chest was a black cloth, almost shawl-like. The gem at the chest was onyx. The skirt was dark jean and was long enough for my finger tips to touch the end but short enough for me to feel uncomfortable. The heeled sandals were black and wrapped around my ankles to tie off at the side.

I fiddled my hands together. I looked at them, "Stop staring!"

Guy was smiling as he leaned against the wall. I wasn't sure why. Odius had covered his expression before I could catch it. He cleared his throat and said, "Well. . . Um. . . I guess we should get going, now."

I nodded and walked over to him. He got into character quickly and offered me his arm. I took it and we walked out.

Guy laughed, "Have fun you two."

I think Odius glared at Guy over my head.

**Guy having a little fun with them cause he can *smiles* Good news is that I only have two or three more chapters to type out before the story is done. I should be posting a few chapters a week until I'm done typing and then I'll try to post a chapter a day.**


	16. Chapter 14

We were walking down a street. There were people going by us and towards us and the sidewalk was almost packed. I saw what Guy had seen. These people had to be filthy rich. I clung a little closer to Odius when some random guy in a suit smacked into me. In heels, I almost fell. Odius set his hand over mine. I'd admit that he was a good actor.

"This place is insane," I muttered to him.

He smirked, "Welcome to the outside world. Where every turn leads to something entirely different than where you just were."

"That I noticed," I said. I was looking into the shop windows as we passed them. A lot of clothing boutiques and jewelry stores. We passed by a store that seemed empty. It was a hair salon.

I looked in as we passed and saw the college guys that had given us a ride the night before. They were sitting with a girl. The place was empty, and they looked a little down.

"Hey," I said, lightly tugging Odius's arm. "Can we stop in here?"

He looked at the shop, and then at me, "Are you sure?"

I nodded, "They never let us pay them back."

"They won't even know it's us," he pointed out.

I shrugged, "So? We can help them out a little bit indirectly."

He sighed. He looked at me, and nodded, "Alright."

I smiled and pulled him into the shop. At the sound of the bell, all three of them looked up at us. One of the college guys, the driver from last night, came up to the counter, smiling.

"Can I help you?"

I nodded, plastering a wide smile on my face, "I was wondering if I could get the style in the window?" I looked up at Odius, still on his arm, "We're leaving tonight to meet my daddy over in New York."

The guy smiled and looked at Odius, "First time meeting him?"

Odius shrugged, "Yeah." Total lie, I knew. He'd been up to Olympus before with his dad and mom. Of course he's met my dad before. I stayed quiet. If anything, I'd let Odius take charge of the cover story.

The guy nodded, "We can easily give you that style, sweetie."

I smiled, almost bleach blonde preppy. Odius surprised me by saying, "Could you do your Full Package?"

I looked at the book in front of us. The Full Package was the hair, nails (mani and pedi), and makeup. It was also the most expensive package they had.

The guy smirked, "Going all out, huh?"

Odius smiled, "I just want to show him that I'm taking care of his baby girl."

We smiled at each other. This couple thing wasn't so hard.

The guy nodded. "Come on back." He led me back to a chair and sat me down. He went behind me and started on my hair. His passenger from last night started on the nails. The girl started on the makeup.

The three of them talked with both Odius and me as they worked. I knew the guys were nice from talking to them last night. The girl was just as nice. It turns out that the two guys have been friends since elementary and the older one was dating the girl, who was the younger one's little sister.

"So, how did you two meet?" the girl asked, while applying some blush.

Odius answered. I was getting my head tilted for the guy behind me to get the style right. He never pulled my hair, though. The guy doing my nails was very soft and I hardly felt him. The girl was very careful with me too. As soon as she found out I was sensitive around the eyes, she was careful.

Odius said, "My grandpa owns a summer camp over in New York, and my dad runs it. We were over there a few summers ago."

I added my own comment, "Yeah, he ran into me when he was tackled by his little brother." We smirked. Most of the truth, just slightly twisted.

The guy behind me, Andrew, laughed, "That's almost like how I met Sarah. Zack tripped her when I was over at their place and she fell into me."

"Yeah, and it did hurt," Sarah added.

Zack looked up from my nails, "I said I was sorry, and you weren't complaining at the time."

Sarah blushed. The guys laughed. Odius and I smiled.

We found out that they started this business because it was something the three of them had been talking and dreaming about for years. Problem was: most of the people around here didn't want to try a new salon, so they were close to losing the place unless they got some more people. I thought about that in my own head as they finished.

They were done within a half an hour, since Odius had mentioned that we needed to head out soon. I looked in the mirror, and was pleasantly surprised. The style I had asked for was a complicated knot at the top of my head. A few stray strands of hair framed the knot, and it didn't look the slightest bit messy. It actually made it look better.

The makeup was natural tones and made everything about my skin tone and eyes pop. Sarah had even gotten some gold bangle bracelets, a gold necklace, and earrings. The earrings dangled slightly, but not enough to be annoying. They elaborated a lot of the tones of the makeup and my skin.

The nails were black French tipped and the black swirled down in gorgeous designs half way down the nails. Zack had added silver jewels and sparkles to the design so they gleamed with each movement of the fingers. The Aphrodite kids would drop dead if they ever saw me with this look. I now looked just as good as they did.

"It's perfect," I told them.

Andrew smiled at me through the mirror, "Your dad's going to have a lot of things to say when he sees you."

I was talking with Zack and Sarah as Odius paid Andrew. They were talking up at the cash register still when I came up next to Odius. I noticed the tip he had given them. This guy was slowly making me actually like him.

As we were leaving, after saying bye to them and wishing them luck with their business (and them returning the luck with the meeting with my 'dad') I asked Odius, "How much do we have left?"

He smirked and replied, "Not including dramchas? Enough for a bus ticket. If we're lucky."

We walked a few feet. "Thank you," I said softly. I looked up at him, "For letting me do that."

He looked down at me. He looked serious, but it wasn't the scary serious. "You're welcome. They deserved it." He sighed, "I sort of wish we could help them out a little more."

My turn to smirk. "I'm not showing off because I feel like it."

He looked around. Every girl we passed was staring at us. The guys were too, but I was ignoring that fact.

A group of obvious rich preps stepped into our path. One said to me, "Oh. My. God. I love your hair. It is so hard to get that style. Where did you get yours done?"

Another grabbed my hand, "Look at the nails. They are gorgeous. Where can I get mine done like this?"

I smiled softly, "The Splendor Shop, just down the street."

They stared at me. The first one said, "The new shop? They haven't been out long, but if they can do that they have to be good."

"Let's go over there now," the other said. The rest nodded enthusiastically. They went around us and walked off. We turned to see them enter the salon.

Odius turned to look at me. He smiled, "You are good."

I shrugged, "The Aphrodite kids would probably be better at this than me."

He shook his head and set his hand on my arm, "You're doing great on your own." He looked me over again. I felt like fidgeting under his gaze. He met my eyes again and I saw the flash of wine color. "You look great, Flare."

I looked at him, "Thank you."

He smiled and turned back to the sidewalk in front of us. We kept any other conversations to a minimum.

**Things are pretty calm for now : ) It seems that people still like this story and it is almost done, so that's good. Thanks guys!**


	17. Chapter 15

We were able to think of a plan as we walked around. We had dramchas, so we thought that Odius could call his dad and have him send us our pegasi again. We would ride them to the edge of New York and then walk to the Empire State building. Not the best of plans ever, but we were broke and had nothing better. I had pressed that Odius not use his savings for the quest. My argument was that it was too easily traceable, but I just didn't want him wasting his money on something like this. So we started back for the hotel.

We were walking towards the stairs that would lead up to the balcony for our room when Guy showed up at the railing. He had cut his hair short and it was dyed black, his usual clip in his bangs. He was wearing blue capris, a white T-shirt, and a jean jacket with the sleeves pushed up. He saw us and called, "You two need to get in here, now."

Odius and I exchanged a look, and then ran up the steps and into the room. Guy closed the door behind us and locked it. The drapes were already closed.

Harry and Cole were watching the television. Cole had a completely shocked look on his face. He had his hair dyed red and was wearing tight black jeans that were torn at the knees, and a baggy maroon shirt with a random band design on it. Harry was back to being black and was wearing cargo pants and an undershirt.

I moved to stand next to him and look at the screen. Richard was sitting there. I could tell he was sitting in the living room, on the couch. Bella and Kellie were sitting to either side of him. Bella looked to be sobbing. Kellie was looking uncomfortable. Richard was looking broken. The headline was 'The Desperate Search for a Runaway Daughter.'

"What is this?" I asked.

"Watch," Guy said. He crawled over the bed and grabbed the remote and turned the television up.

Richard was talking in a distraught voice, "It's been almost four years since my baby ran away. I now believe that she was forced to leave us. Whoever made her leave is making her do these things. She would never so this. She is a good girl."

"Is he talking about me?" I asked. I grabbed the remote from Guy and turned it up some more.

A reporter asked a question that shocked all of us, "Are you sure she wasn't the one who wrote the ransom note about Cody Wolfe?"

Richard replied, "She would never hurt anyone. She was such a great girl. I. . ." He paused and wrapped his arms around Kellie and Bella, "We just want our Flare home, safe and sound."

Bella was still crying. Kellie looked at her dad and then got up and left the room. Richard watched her go; his expression was hidden from the cameras.

Bella leaned forward, "She's the most upset of us. Her and Flare used to go running at the crack of dawn together." She sniffled and dapped her nose with a tissue. "We are so worried about our little sister."

I turned the television off and threw the remote. Guy and Cole, both laying on their stomachs on the bed, ducked to not get hit. The remote broke and fell on the pillows. I was now pacing.

"Those little liars," I growled. "I ran away? Please! They kicked me out! And Kellie hated me. Bella really hated me! They don't miss me. And what ransom note! What the heck is going on?"

"Flare, Flare," Odius cut in. "Calm down."

"Calm down!" I yelled. "How the heck can I calm down when I was just blamed for my little brother's 'kidnapping' that never even happened?"

He stepped towards me, "Calm down. Yelling won't help." He sighed, "I don't know what's going on. Your stepdad's up to something because he wants you back. We can't let that happen, and we won't let it happen. We'll continue on to Olympus."

I was still pacing.

Odius stepped in my path, "Flare, you can help me contact my dad. The rest of you pack up."

"Um, Odius," Harry said from where he was now leaning by the window.

"What?" Odius asked.

Harry pointed to the door. Odius walked over and looked out the window. I came over and looked over his shoulder. There were two police cars outside, along with some news van.

"Turn the TV back on," I said.

Cole got up and manually turned the television back on. Our hotel was on the screen. The announcer was saying, "We got a tip that Flare Ruik, missing for four years, is here in this hotel along with her kidnappers. Police are mobilizing to try to reason with the men with her and get her out safely."

"Pack up," Odius ordered.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bathroom. He started the shower and turned to me, "Keep your hand over the nozzle. It should be enough to send an iris message."

I nodded and stood on the edge of the tub. Odius stood behind me with and arm around my waist as he threw in a dramcha. He stated Dionysus's name and we watched as it shimmered to show him, sitting at his card table.

Pollux was the first one to notice us. He was sitting on the railing behind his dad. "Odius?"

Dionysus looked up from his cards. "Hey, how's the quest coming along?"

"Is that Flare?" Pollux asked.

"Yeah, it's her," Odius said. "Dad, we need help. Flare's stepdad is trying to say the guys and I kidnapped her. Right now we are surrounded by cops and paparazzi. We need a way out. Options would be nice."

I couldn't see his dad or brother's reactions but it was quiet on their end for a few seconds.

"Help would be nice!" I called. I couldn't stand there forever and our dramcha would run out soon.

Dionysus said, "They're all adults, Odius. Distract them. Have the others get her out of there and get a head start."

"Distract them?" I asked. "How do you distract a double digit number of adult professionals?"

It was quiet, but Odius was staring hard at his dad through the iris message. He nodded, "Can you send the Pegasi for the rest of them?"

"It'd be too dangerous," he said. I heard his fingers tap the table. "I'll send someone with the car."

Odius nodded. "Alright, thanks dad."

"Be careful, son," Dionysus said. "We don't know what our enemy is thinking. He's using two of her brother's against her. Be careful they don't get any closer."

Odius replied, "I will be."

"You'd better," Pollux snapped.

Odius smiled, "I'll call you guys again from Olympus, alright?"

I think Pollux nodded. The message dissolved and Odius helped me down from the edge of the bathtub.

"What did he mean?" I looked at Odius. "What are you going to do?"

He smirked at me, "I'm the oldest son of the God of Wine and no human can resist what we make." He turned serious again. "I'll stay behind. You need to get out of here."

"I am not leaving you," I stated firmly, grabbing his arm before he could turn his back on me.

He turned to look at me, "You have to get to Olympus, Flare. You have to get your brothers back."

"And you have to make it back to camp to your own brother," I argued. I shook my head, "I'm not leaving you here without backup. Let Harry stay with you."

He shook his head, "You need all the help you can get to get to Olympus. Harry goes with you. Cole stays with you because this guy is using your family against you. Guy goes with you because he can get you in without them noticing you as easily."

"And you're coming with me because you're basically running this quest," I finished.

"Why are you so intent on making me leave with you guys?" he asked. "You'd have a better chance on saving your brothers if I stay behind."

I bit my lip. Tugging his arm I said, "You're coming with us."

He shook his head, "I can't, Flare." He set his finger over my lips before I could say anything. "Enough. I'm staying. You're going. That's the end of it."

He walked out. I had nothing to say. I followed. Odius was telling the others what the plan was. I didn't like it. I flat out hated it. Odius was planning on getting all those people drunk? Was he insane? I didn't want him to do this.

Naturally, I had no say in the matter. No one would listen to me. Even Guy was on Odius's side on this matter. Cole was on the side that kept me safe. Harry was going with whatever Odius was saying. No one would listen to me.

We were going to climb out the small window in the bathroom. There was an ally behind us, and we had a clear path for now. Cole and Guy were already down and Harry went next. I ignored Odius as I climbed out onto the makeshift rope. I had changed into jeans and was going to follow them out.

"Flare," he said, stopping me before I even got passed the window frame.

I glared at him.

"Be careful," he told me. "Don't let anything get to your head." He was still being serious. "Just stay safe, alright? I'll catch up when I'm done here."

I nodded slowly. "You had better, Odius. If you don't, I'll make sure you regret it."

He smiled and nodded. I moved to start climbing when he grabbed my arm. I looked up at him and he leaned down. He kissed me. The jerk kissed me.

He was still smirking when he pulled back. By then, someone was banging on the door. He whispered, "Be careful." Then he left me at the window and went back to the main room of the hotel.

"Flare!" Guy called. "You need to climb down now. Flare?"

I was staring into space with my mouth hung open. I wondered if I was so intoxicated because he was the son of the Wine God. The other reason was in the back of my mind. So far I almost didn't even acknowledge it, but I did. I actually liked it.

**Alrighty…That happened. XP **

**I did get a comment asking for a sequel after this and, honestly, I'm not planning for one. If anyone has any ideas, then I might consider it, but at the moment it'll just be this story.**

**Thanks to everyone for reading ^ ^**


	18. Chapter 16

We were running down the street as fast as we could. We had to get as far away from the hotel as possible. We kept to allies and small streets to avoid any helicopters that might have been around. Harry had tried to take over, but I overtook him and ran in front. For once, he didn't argue with me.

None of us had any idea how long Odius's distraction would last. We had to make every last second count. So we kept running. We stopped who knows how far away when hardly any of us could breathe. We gasped as we looked behind us. Luckily no one had seen us. We were in the clear. For now.

"We have to at least get to the edge of town," I panted. "Mr. D is sending someone with a car to meet us. We should be on the outskirts so we can load up and peel out of here as fast as possible."

The others all looked at me curiously, but nodded in agreement. In a sense, this is the first time I've taken control of my own quest. It's been forever since I've had this determined and commanding tone in my voice. I wanted this done, though. I wanted everything, and everyone, back to normal.

"Let's go," I said, running off again. The others followed with a few groans at more running. No one voiced any other suggestion otherwise.

It was nightfall when we reached the edge of the busy town. New York wasn't far from here. A few hours by car if we sped a little. The others sat down heavily, trying to get their lungs to stop burning. I paced by the edge of the building we were resting under. It was dark back here, and not as populated.

I almost ran into Guy when I turned and he was randomly standing there. I jumped. "Don't do that, Guy," I warned. "I'm jumpy enough to accidentally shoot you."

"That's what I wanted to ask you about," he started calmly. "Since we left you've been acting . . . different. What did Odius say to you before?"

I shook my head, "Basically not to do anything stupid." I looked out at the road.

"Flare?" Guy asked. I looked at him. "Is everything okay?"

I sighed. A huge puff of air that I had been holding since earlier. "I don't know anymore. I know what I want from this quest, but I have no idea about after." I shrugged. "If there even is an after."

He looked with me towards the road. "I just thought we'd all go back to camp and resume our normal roles. If you had a different idea, do tell."

I shook my head, "As I said, I have no idea what to do afterwards. I doubt things will be normal again."

"Since when has anything around us been normal?" he asked.

I nodded, "True, but I mean. . . Ugh. . ."

He chuckled, "I know what you mean. I'm just trying to cheer you up a little."

I smiled a little at him, "Thanks, Guy. You haven't had to do all this, you know."

He shrugged, "I'm not much of a fighter, but I'm glad I could help in some way."

I looked at him again, "You're a great friend."

He looked at me, startled. He smiled softly, "Thanks." I smiled back. If we did get back to camp, I was thinking about hanging with him sometimes. Everyone needed a friend. We had 'siblings,' sure, but not a lot of friends.

We heard honking and looked over. A dark red Santa Fe pulled to the side. We walked over, wondering who that car belonged. I know about the vans, but this? I was even more shocked when Pollux got out of the driver's seat.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, coming to stand by him.

"Helping," he replied. "I was able to lose Argus in traffic, but he'll be here soon. So we have to move."

"Are you crazy?" I asked. "You're dad's got to be going awol wondering where you are."

He looked at me, "I want to help, Flare. Odius is risking his life, why can't I?"

"Can we just go?" Harry asked. He moved and got into the very back of the car. Guy and Cole exchanged looks and looked at me before getting into the back seat. Pollux got back behind the wheel.

I grabbed the door before he could close it and said, "I'm driving."

"Huh?" was heard simultaneously.

"But, Flare. . ." Pollux started.

"A crazy driver might be just what we need right now," I said. He looked at me for another second and then moved to the passenger side.

"We are so dead," Harry muttered. He gripped the back of the seat behind Cole and braced his legs against the other side. Cole, Guy and Pollux reached for the handles above them.

I sat down calmly and buckled the seatbelt. I adjusted the seat and gripped the wheel, getting used to the feel of it. I had heard a lot about cars from Hephaestus's kids. How hard could this bolt of wheels actually be? Surely not as hard as a chariot. Now those were difficult to drive with those rampant pegasi. Without any warning, I slammed on the gas. The roads were empty, and I think I heard Guy mention that the highway patrol wouldn't be in this section for another hour or two.

I had no idea how to drive, but this wasn't too bad. At least I was staying on the road. I didn't care about the speed. As long as I could still control the car, I would go as fast as I could. We had to get to New York. NOW.

The others were yelling at me to slow down. Harry was now braced against the tailgate door. I ignored them and continued driving. I focused on the one task at hand: getting to New York.

I did slow down when we started passing more people. The others had their hands practically melded to the handles.

"I am never letting you drive my car again," Pollux breathed. He shook his head, "Scratch that. I'm just never getting in the car with you behind the wheel."

"I agree," Cole muttered. I think he got a little queasy with that ride. We hadn't eaten in a while, so all our stomachs were empty. That didn't mean we still couldn't get sick.

"Which way to the Empire State?" I asked Pollux.

He directed me without question. The others noticed that I was set on just getting there. They stopped talking about anything else.

We were pulling up to one of the tallest buildings I had ever seen. The height was tall enough to make me wonder how many people could actually fit in it. Pollux had me pull over and we switched so he could actually park it. He didn't want me to dent his car against the curb or another car. Once that was done, we went inside.

I followed Pollux over to the guy at the counter. He looked at us skeptically as we approached. "Can I help you kids?"

Pollux leaned against the counter, slightly over it, and said quietly, "We need to go up to Olympus."

The guy smirked, "Sorry, kid. I don't know what you're talking about."

Pollux frowned and muttered to himself, "I hate it when they change the receptionist." A little louder he said, "They are expecting us up there."

The guy laughed at us. I stepped forward and grabbed the collar of his jacket, "Cut the act and tell us how to get up there."

"Fairy, if we have to get a new one because you kill this one, you're going to have one heck of a time getting this quest done." We looked over.

Mr. D was standing there in his usual attire of the wacky leopard shirt and shorts. His hands were casually in his pockets, but his eyes were sparking. It was a lot like Odius's eyes were when he got mad. I shook that thought away.

I let the guy go and he pushed his chair back so that not even Harry could have reached him over the counter. Mr. D told him, "They're allowed up. We have been waiting for them to get here."

The guy nodded, "Sure thing, sir."

We followed Mr. D over to the elevators. He was quiet until the doors closed. Instead of us, though, he addressed his son, "What got into you to run off like that?"

Pollux replied, "I wanted to help Odius."

Mr. D stated, "Your brother can take care of himself."

Pollux looked at him, "I didn't go to help him with the distraction. I helped him by making sure Flare got here."

Mr. D looked like he wanted to argue, but for some reason he didn't. That last part confused me. Yes, I knew that Odius wanted to get me here to stop the war and to help protect Pollux, but why was it that big a deal to him that I get here completely and utterly safe? I can handle myself well enough. In a way, I think I knew the answer, but I chose to push it aside as me over thinking things.

Olympus was prettier than I had thought it was going to be. Gardens lined the path with beautiful plants and flowers growing everywhere. As pretty as everything was though, it was empty. Everyone had taken refuge against the rising storm. The nymphs and godlings would stay out of the way as the gods worked to get rid of this threat. Once a plan was formed, they'd appear to carry it out. It surprised me how trusting they were of the divine beings. I guess me being a demigod and being ignored by my dad made my trust for all of them waver.

We followed Mr. D until we reached the gods' throne room. All of the twelve thrones were set up in a U around the hearth, a lot like the cabins back at camp, minus the extra cabins for the other gods. Each throne was occupied by someone or other. I had to guess who was who, but I know I named them all correctly.

At the head of the U was the king of the gods himself, Zeus. He had storm-cloud covered beard and hair and rainy colored eyes. He sat in his throne in a pinstriped suit that only reminded me of Richard and forced me to suppress a cringe. Next to him was the god of the sea, Zeus's brother, Poseidon. I liked his care free style of Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirt. The lord of the forges, Hephaestus was next, followed by lord of thieves, Hermes, Apollo. . . Mr. D who was now in his huge form and sitting on his throne of grape vines, and lord of war, Ares.

On, I guess my grandpa's, other side was Hera, queen of the gods. Demeter, goddess of harvest was next, and then goddess of wisdom Athena, Guy's mother Aphrodite, and in a way my aunt, Artemis. All of the women were gorgeous in their own way and each held themselves with the power they knew they had.

Our little group of misfits walked down the rows of the gods and goddesses, but I stopped by the hearth and refused to go any further. I got an odd look from Harry and Guy and Cole both looked back at me like I was crazy.

"Flare, the last thing you want to do is insult the gods," Guy whispered. He came back a step so he could talk to me. "Don't get stubborn on us now."

Cole joined us, "The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get things back to normal."

"I'll show respect when it's earned," I told them. "Not because they're supposedly all that." Both looked surprised.

"I see Dionysus wasn't exaggerating your attitude." We all looked over at Zeus. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him. Yes, he could probably fry me for acting like this, but I was tired of living in their shadow just because I was half god. "I can't tell if you're brave or stupid."

I shrugged, "Either way things get done." Guy and Cole moved to stand on either side of me. Harry stood on Guy's other side, by the fire burning in the hearth. It made me wonder if Hestia was watching and or listening in. I moved my attentions back to Zeus.

"What brings all of you to Olympus?" Zeus asked.

I looked at him. Guy muttered, "Be nice."

I replied as evenly as I could, "How should I know? No one really told me much. All I know is that someone wants you all dead and they're using me through my brothers to make it happen. If anything I think you owe us the explanation."

Zeus's look hardened. The air smelled of ozone and the air around us seemed to cackle.

"I'm afraid she makes a point, father." I jumped. That voice sounded familiar. It had led me to camp, and had helped me find a way to destroy the robots. It was the female voice that had constantly made me wonder if I was sane.

We all looked over at auburn haired goddess that had spoken. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and her eyes were an odd mix of silver and yellow. The goddess of the hunt was siding with us. Artemis was agreeing with me.

Zeus looked over at her, "Why say that, daughter?"

Artemis replied calmly, "Apollo's vision was very vague, and we don't know the full story either, so Flare knows next to nothing about why she is here. Yet she came, nonetheless." She looked at me. "We are all well aware of how much you resent us, so why come to help us now?"

I answered, "I'm not here to help you." I looked around at all of them. Pollux was sitting on the floor next to his father's throne, watching quietly. No attention was on him and I'm sure that Mr. D wanted it that way. It made me think that Odius should have been there as well, sitting with his brother and father. But he wasn't. And that was because he was helping me. I continued with my answer, "I'm here to protect my family and friends both back at camp, here with me, and those who need help. Don't think I'm going to bow down to you or take orders from you, because I could care less about Olympus that much is true." I glared at Apollo for a split second before turning my back on him to look at his twin. I caught the look of sadness in his eyes as I did. "But I do care about the kids who I've come to know."

It was quiet. I know I pissed a few of them off when I said I didn't care about them. I meant it, though. I meant every word. I didn't care about them, but I did care about their children.

There was a clash of thunder on the horizon and everyone looked at Zeus. The god said sternly, "The opposing army approaches. We will fight them, and we will defeat them. Athena, come up with a strategy. Ares, prepare the fighters. Apollo, inform your daughter."

I met the eyes of the god of prophecy. He still looked sad, but I was ready for a fight.

**I don't know if Pollux would actually own a car, but I figured he would, so he has one… So, things are starting to roll again. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!**


	19. Chapter 17

We were still standing by the hearth as the gods and goddesses shrunk to normal size and went about their jobs. We were approached by a few of them at once. Athena, Artemis, and Apollo all came up to us. Irony hates people, huh?

Artemis addressed us first, "Flare, Cole, you two will join us on the vantage points. You're under Apollo's and my orders, understand?"

We both nodded and Cole muttered a, "Yes, ma'am."

Athena said, "Harry, you will be a ground troop with your father and the rest of the soldiers."

"Got it," Harry smirked. I figured he'd have fun with this, even if it was a fight to save our lives.

Guy was assigned to help the wounded out of the line of fire. I liked that idea. He wasn't that great a fighter, so helping in the background was the perfect thing for him. I knew by the slight glint in his eye that he liked the idea, too.

"Let's get you set up with armor and weapons, then," she said. We followed her to a forge-like place that was set in Olympus. Hephaestus was already hard at working making weapons. We fitted ourselves into some armor and helped each other fix anything that needed it. Harry was given a battle ax and a shield. He smirked as he tested the weight and balance of the ax.

"Careful," I warned when the blade got too close to me.

"Sorry," he muttered. He walked off the find his father and get the battle plan. I saw the determined set in his shoulders. This fight was a way for him to prove to Ares how great a warrior his son was. Harry was going to give this one all he's got and more to be the best fighter out there.

Artemis walked up to us again. She and Apollo had been watching us as we got our armor on and fitted. I had ignored Apollo the whole time, not even acknowledging his presence there.

She handed Cole a new bow and quiver with arrows. The bow shimmered with silver light that matched the arrows and the quiver was a midnight blue. She said, "These are usually given to my hunters, but in the view of the situation and how pressed for time we are, this will have to do as your weapon."

"As long as it's a bow and it shoots," Cole said. He took both and situated them on his back, like I had mine.

We walked back out to the throne room in silence. Well, sort of. Artemis was telling Cole and me where we were going to be standing. Her hunters were waiting for us and she told them as well. We were introduced to her lieutenant, Thalia. The famed daughter of Zeus. She was . . . interesting to say the least.

Artemis looked at me after finishing telling us where we were going to stand saying, "And you can't ignore him forever, Flare."

I pretended to be fixing the strap of my quiver. Cole muttered, "If she wants to, she will."

Artemis exchanged a look over my head with Apollo and said, "Cole, let's double check things with Athena." She turned and walked off. Cole and the hunters followed. I could have been stubborn and went with them, but she was right. I couldn't ignore him forever, especially with the fight not even hours away.

I looked out into the courtyard and watched as Mr. D walked about the nymphs and a few satyrs. Pollux was dressed in armor and walking with him. I saw a woman watching the two of them, with obvious distaste for Pollux. I kept expecting Odius to show up, dressed for battle, and walk alongside his family, to defend his little half-brother against his own mother, but he was still nowhere to be found. That worried me. He should be here by now.

"Flare," Apollo said. I didn't say anything. He sighed, "What do you want me to say? There wasn't much I could do about anything. We aren't allowed to meddle in your lives."

"The night that thing took Cody, you and Artemis walked me through the steps to destroy those things," I said. "The night I was kicked out Artemis led me to Camp Half-Blood. Isn't that considered meddling?"

"In a way," he answered slowly.

"But you both still did it," I cut him off before he could say anything else. "If you could meddle in those situations, what about others? What about just sending me a simple message to let me know I had a dad, that I wasn't abandoned with that jerk for no reason."

"Flare, your mother loved you," he said. "She still does. She thought that leaving you with Richard would have been better because she traveled a lot."

"Oh, yeah," I scoffed. "That worked out well."

He sighed, "Flare, please believe me when I say that I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Just tell me about this prophecy," I said.

He looked at me for a few more seconds and recited,

"A corrupted soul will try to steal

All the things we hold dear.

His death lies only in mine hand

Through tears the blow will stand.

The journey not over until his soul itself it dead,

And friend's last words overcome personal dread."

I added,

"Through multiples cities you must past through

Simply to get to neighboring city too.

During the inevitable battle a life will be lost

And all at the villain's cost.

Once the fight is done

One more errand must be run.

To the depths of the world you must travel

And allow the battle to end and the rest of fate unravel.

I know all that, but what does it all mean?"

"The vision was vague," he said, repeating what Artemis had said earlier. "There's not much to it besides going line by line and guessing. That's what we've been doing since I first had the insight."

"Chiron and Mr. D have already gone over the first one with me," I said. "For the most part, anyway. We got up through 'His death lies in mine hand' before we got off that topic."

"'Through tears the blow will stand' can be slightly self-explanatory. Most likely you'll be crying."

"I don't cry," I stated.

"Something will make you," he said softly. He then continued, "'The journey not over until his soul itself is dead, and friend's last words overcome personal dread.' The soul could refer to going to the Underworld, to be sure that he gets what he deserves. I'm not sure what to make of the last line."

"Then the Oracle's prophecy," I said, continuing. "The first two lines I get. We went to several cities just to get here, despite the fact that camp is only a few hours away. The next line is a no brainer. Someone will die during the fight. No idea who, but someone will."

"'At the villain's cost' means that that could be his mistake," Apollo added. "If he kills someone you care about, I doubt you'd let him live long after."

"No, I wouldn't," I confirmed. "Then it goes back around to what you said. 'To the depths of the world' could mean the underworld. Kill his soul. Maybe the other part has something to do with whoever dies."

Apollo smiled, "Maybe. You're pretty good at analyzing things."

I didn't reply. Pollux was standing in the courtyard, looking out at the walkway. It was empty. Still. Anyone could tell he was worried. Nervous. He had lost his twin in the last war. Was he to lose his older brother in this one? I hope not.

I left Apollo on the steps and walked over to Pollux. I could feel Mr. D's wife glaring at me as I approached him, but Mr. D redirected her attentions.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He jumped and looked at me. He looked back out, "I'm worried. He should have been back by now."

I nodded, "I know. I was just thinking the same thing." I looked out at Olympus. No one was out, and those who were, were making preparations for the upcoming attack.

"Father says that they created a 'Toxic Gas Leakage' story so the city would be evacuated," Pollux told me.

"That's a good strategy," I replied. "At least then we don't have to worry about anyone getting accidentally hurt or killed."

He nodded.

"Pollux," I said.

"Hm?"

"You know Odius better than me, obviously," I started. He nodded. "I don't get him at all, but he's acted sort of. . . weird on this quest." My memory flashed back to him kissing me. "I don't get him."

Pollux looked at me, "He'd kill me if I told you."

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"The truth," he replied. He said, "But, after this, he might tell you himself."

"What are you two talking about?" we looked over as Guy walked up to us.

"Odius," I replied.

He smirked, "Oh. Should I leave, then?"

Pollux laughed, "You know?"

"It was easy to figure out," Guy said, coming to stand on my other side. I looked between the two of them.

"What in the world are you two talking about?" I asked.

They laughed at me. Guy said, "Don't worry about it too much, Flare. It'll click sooner or later."

I looked at him. Somehow or other he was back to his natural hair color. His clip was back in its place pinning his bangs back. I don't think I've ever seen him without that clip.

"I'm going to see if anything else needs to be done," Pollux said before walking off.

I looked at Guy, "Is something wrong? You seem to be thinking very hard about something."

He shook his head, "I tend to do that around any subject involving parents."

"Has Aphrodite said anything to you?" I asked.

He shook his head, "She hasn't acknowledged me, and I don't care about that."

"Your dad?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah." He paused. "Can I tell you something?"

I nodded.

He looked at the ground, then at me and then back at the ground. "My dad didn't kick me out."

"Huh?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "We got into a fight about how I had quit the baseball team he had signed me up for. He was always trying to get me to join a sport, but I was never really interested in any of them. I think he wanted a son to play catch with, but I would have rather helped the dance teacher as I got older." He sighed. "He sounded so disappointed. I couldn't take it anymore. It seemed that everything I did made things worse for him. I was always getting teased at school and he was always being called into the office for it. So I thought things would be better for him if I ran away. A satyr led me to camp. My dad had told me I was a demigod when I could understand what that meant. I knew everything."

"Do you miss him?" I asked softly.

He nodded, his eyes closing and his fists clenching, "Gods yes. We may not have always seen eye to eye on things, but he was always there when I needed someone to talk to. He was the first one to pick up the phone to talk to the principal if I was getting bullied or pushed around and no one was doing anything. He bought me this clip because I had been staring at it when we went out with my cousin. He may not have understood much about me, but he still tried to make me happy." He stared at the ground, and it surprised me that he wasn't crying.

I stared at him. He kept staring at the ground in obvious depression.

"Have you ever thought of visiting home?" I asked. "You're old enough now to leave camp if you wanted to."

He shook his head and smiled sadly at me, "I don't think he'd want to see me." He moved in front of me and pulled something down over my head.

"What are you. . ." I went to ask. He pulled the thing back up and set it on my head. Now my bangs were being kept back.

"A headband," he answered my unfinished question, his voice still wavering a little bit. He fixed it a little more and then looked at me. He smiled, "I was right. You look really pretty with your hair pinned back."

"I don't try to get anyone's attention, you know," I pointed out.

He smiled. I smirked. "Come on, let's get into position." I hooked my arm through his as we walked back towards where everyone was gathering. He moved his arm a little and took my hand in his. I guess I could say that I'd definitely call him a friend.

**Small filler that gives a little more insight to Guy. OMG I love him X)**

**Good news, this story is entirely typed out. I will work on posting a chapter a day now for you guys. Maybe two a day if I can.**


	20. Chapter 18

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who's nervous," Cole muttered as I came to stand next to him. We were on a decently high up balcony. High enough to get decent shots, but not high enough that we'd be useless.

"You're not," I replied. Something was bugging me. We were almost all in position, but most of us were left on our own.

About an hour ago, a large . . . thing had popped up outside of town. It was big enough that we could see it from where we were standing and it shook the city. We didn't know what it was. From where we were standing, we could see the chariots zooming around it, trying to bring it down. Most of the gods were out there fighting it, trying to stop it from getting closer. Downside to them being out there was that we were now seriously outnumbered here.

My stomach was seriously knotted. Something was wrong. I didn't like the fact that we had so few people on our side. Harry was in charge of the ground troops. Athena needed Ares out with the giant, but she thought Harry could handle it. Ares didn't disagree, so that's how that was left.

Thalia was in charge of us. No surprise since Cole and I were the only two who weren't hunters. I was barely listening to her as she talked to us, though. I kept looking down at the ground, scanning our measly ranks and the still empty streets.

Guy and a few satyrs were standing just outside the Empire State's doors. Once the fighting started they'd duck inside until they found loopholes to get in to grab the wounded. Guy looked up at me and smiled a little. Even from here I could tell he was nervous. He was scared. As was I.

I had decided at the last minute to not wear the armor. I had changed into a tank top and jean shorts. The others thought I was crazy but I kept quiet. If anyone was going to die, I'd rather it be me. We all knew someone would die, today. We just didn't know who that person would be.

We all heard a screeching echoing from down the street. We all turned to face it. Harry stood at the ready with his ax and shield and the other fighters copied him as we looked for our enemy. What we saw seriously dropped our spirits even further.

There were dozens of them. All built like lumberjacks and football players combined. At least nine feet tall and maybe five feet wide. They were huge, and identical. They were more of those stupid robots, but these ones had been seriously upgraded.

I was staring at the chariot that was leading the army. I was shocked beyond reason at the person I saw. Richard.

"Isn't that . . .?" Cole started to ask.

I nodded wordlessly.

He was dressed in armor but was still wearing his suit under it. He was smiling up at me. He stopped a ways away, and held up a megaphone.

"Flare, it's good to see you again," he said. I was frozen in shock. Most of the others turned to stare at me. "Let's go ahead and stop this foolishness, shall we? We wouldn't want to kill you."

I shouted, "What are you doing here?"

He smirked again, "Claiming what is mine."

"What is he talking about?" Thalia asked.

"It is true that I am only human," Richard explained. "But I've always had a strong sight. I saw you for who you were the second I met you. I never really thought much of it, though. I knew your father would never come to claim you, so there was no point in becoming your friend. I needed to get to the gods, but I couldn't unless they came to me."

I stared at him, my bow in my hand at my side.

"It wasn't until shortly after you had left that I heard about the prophecy Apollo had all those years ago," he continued. "It wasn't until after you had left that I came up with a brilliant plan. If I made an army of indestructible, brainless, emotionless warriors, even the gods couldn't win against me."

He was crazy.

He smirked at me, "But then there was the problem of you." Cole and I had matching glares now. "I had to find this so called 'chosen one' and kill them before my plan could succeed. I was wrong the first time, but I figured it out soon enough. Then I missed my second chance."

"I'm blonde but not stupid," I called. "I know what you've been trying to do."

He chuckled, "Impatient much? Fine, I'll skip those details. Since I missed my chance to kill you, I thought, why not trying to control her?"

"Have fun with that one," I stated.

He was still smirking, "I'll make my terms crystal clear, Flare. Surrender yourself to me, and your brothers will live."

We heard the loud, painful screech again. We all looked up, and sure enough, there was the stupid cross bred thing. It was flying up about fifty stories, and in both of its talons, it held Manny and Cody.

"Cody!" Cole yelled.

Both of them looked in bad shape. Manny had new cuts and bruises from the last time I had seen him, and Cody had new wounds that he definitely didn't have before. Both had their arms tied behind them as they dangled dangerously in the air. Cody was really looking freaked out. Manny was trying for blank, but his panic was starting to show as well.

I looked back at Richard. He was still smirking and he said, "Come to us, and we will set them down gently. Try anything funny, and my pet will drop them."

"Flare," Cole said, looking at me. "He'll kill you."

"I know," I replied.

"Stay where you are," Thalia ordered. "We'll find a way around this."

I was still glaring at Richard. For some reason, I wasn't worried about doing something 'funny.'

As Thalia was giving orders to find a way to shoot the damned thing down, I brought my bow up. It was knocked and aimed in less than ten seconds, and fired not long after. It soared up and buried itself into the belly of the beast.

It screeched again and dropped Manny and Cody. They were falling, and the others were freaking out because there was no way to catch them.

A dark streak darted under Cody and an orange one darted under Manny. Both had been caught, by none other than Mauvecharger and Sunstreak. Riding the dark purple stallion was none other than. . .

"Odius!" Guy called, smiling.

He smiled back down at us, one arm holding his charge's mane and the other helping Cody stay on. Odius's clothes were torn and shredded and he looked worse for wear, but he was alive.

I smiled up at him in complete relief. He and Sunstreak landed on the balcony with us. Cole was immediately next to his brother, cutting the binds with an arrowhead. Cody was practically bawling. I think he's officially been scarred and will forever be afraid of heights.

I helped Manny down from my Pegasus and cut him loose. He hugged me and I hugged him.

"I was so worried about you," he told me.

"You were worried about me?" I asked. "I was worried about you! What the heck were you thinking trying to stall him like that?"

He smiled, "I know. I know. I was a bit of an idiot to try to take him on by myself. I'm sorry."

Odius was talking with Thalia. I pulled away from Manny, calmly walked over to the black head, and imbedded my fist into his head.

"Ow!" he shouted. "What was that for?"

"For disappearing for so long," I snapped. "Do you have any idea how worried Pollux and I've been? You were supposed to meet up with us hours ago!"

He smiled at me again.

"What?" I asked.

He chuckled and shook his head, "Nothing. As I was telling Thalia, though, I brought some help."

I went back to the edge and looked down. Almost everyone we knew from camp was now standing with our original troops. Ares cabin was in front with Harry at the head. The rest of Apollo's cabin was coming up behind us. Thalia immediately put them into position, because Richard shouted in anger, "Attack!"

"Charge!" Harry yelled.

"They're robots," I said. "Metal. These weapons won't work on them."

Odius nodded, standing next to me at the railing. "The Hephaestus kids brought as much Greek fire and toys they could carry, it'll give us some advantage."

Manny took post next to me with a new bow as did Cody. He was over his original shock and now just seemed mad. Cole was on his other side.

"How you holding, kid?" I asked.

Cody replied shakily, "I'm holding."

"Good," I nodded, before whacking him, too. The others stared at me.

"Don't do that again," I said, emphasizing each word. "If you push me you had better fall with me, not go flying off."

He looked at me, rubbing his head a little. He smiled a little, "Sorry, sis."

I smiled back and ruffled his hair a little. "Now that I'm not mad at you three anymore," I started. "let's take whatever stress is left out on him."

Odius pulled me back from my post before I could start shooting with the others. "I'm going down to help," he told me.

I looked at him, "Don't do anything stupid, alright."

He nodded, "Right. I don't want to get hit again." He pulled me inside a little more so the others couldn't see or hear us.

"What?" I asked. He was staring.

"About what happened at the hotel," he started. I looked at him. I almost wanted to protest that now wasn't the time, but I also wanted to know what that was about. It confused me, and I don't like not knowing what was going on.

"You mean the kiss?" I asked.

He bit his lip, "Yeah, that." He inhaled deeply, and then kissed me. Again. Then it clicked. Maybe I was dense. . .

Odius looked at me, "Be careful, okay?"

I nodded, "Right. You too."

He smiled and went to run off. I grabbed his hand, kissed him, and then ran back out to my own position. I think he got the hint, because he was smiling as he turned away.

"Did you finally realize it?" Manny asked.

"Shut up," I muttered.

**Family reunion! Sort of… Flare finally understands things a little better, that's a good thing. Right?**


	21. Chapter 19

We were getting nowhere. The robots were really hard to defeat. Harry must have told the others that it was easy to make them explode if they at least exposed the motherboards, but these things were so well armored, that it was nearly impossible to do so. Even with the back up from the campers, we were losing. There were more wounded inside than fighting outside.

"Am I the only one to notice that this isn't working?" I asked. Most of the others were out or almost out of arrows. I kept firing, considering that I had unlimited.

"We need a decent plan," Manny said.

"I'm open for suggestions," Cole muttered, annoyed. Since he had his other half back at his side, he was somewhat back to being 'I hate you' to everyone else. Surprisingly, though, he was still fine with Manny and me.

"Sadly, I don't have any," I replied. I was scratched. A few of the robots were shooting arrows at us. I was lucky that none of them were really hitting me directly.

I was carefully watching Guy whenever I saw him. He'd stay low and keep his head down, but I wanted to be safe. I was backing him up now as he tried to get a camper from the Hermes cabin out of the battle zone. He was having a considerable amount of trouble just getting to the boy. Odius, Harry and Pollux helped out when they could, but they were usually up front trying to keep the enemy back.

For some reason, I had a bad feeling about how the battle was turning out. As I said, we had more injured than fighting. Richard had yet to move from where he had first parked his chariot. He merely watched the fight, occasionally glancing up at me with a smug look if someone of ours was hurt or killed. He was enjoying this, the bastard.

I continued with my backup of Guy as he finally managed to get the injured son of Hermes off the battlefield. Some of the boy's siblings had gone to help as well. Analyzing the situation, it looked grim. Very grim.

"I'm out," Manny sighed. His quiver was empty.

"I think some of the younger Hephestus kids are working on making more arrows," Cody said from my other side. He only had a few left. Cole was out. As were most of the hunters and many of our siblings.

"Can they make it in time is the question," Cole commented.

"Doubt it," I muttered. I kept my eye on Guy again as he and some satyrs came back out.

All of us on the balcony flinched when we heard the screech of the thing we had become familiar with since the start of this ridiculous quest.

"Didn't I kill that thing?" I asked.

"Not by the looks of it," Cole responded.

We all glanced up, and I swear I was about to scream out of pure annoyance. Sitting on the injured beast's back as if it were a Pegasus, was none other than the eldest wicked stepsister.

Bella looked different than I remembered. Her top of the line outfit was switched for a tight fitting armor dress. It bared her stomach and slit up both thighs which made the thought 'skank' come to mind. Her hair fell in curls over her shoulders, pushed back with a golden headband. She sat on a golden saddle that greatly clashed with the fur and skin of the creature and held the gold satin reigns in her manicured hand. She held her head up and her back was straight as she sneered down at me.

"I'll kill you for injuring my pet, Flare," she growled.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

Hearing Richard's cackle, I glanced back down at him. One of the robots was standing next to him, and on its shoulder was the third bane of my being. Kellie was wearing jogging shorts and a sports bra top, sitting with her legs gracefully together and her hand braced on the thing's head. Her hair was still pulled back into its usual high ponytail, and she was still wearing white jogging shoes. She would have looked no different if not for the fact she was sitting on an eight foot tall giant.

There was an off fact about her, though. Her eyes were glazed over as she stared ahead blankly. She gave no indication that she realized where she was or what was going on at all.

"Surprised?" Bella asked, swooping down so we got an unwanted whiff of the thing's death scent.

"To see you've gone bonkers?" I retorted. "Not really."

She growled. "Enough with the witty retorts, daughter of Apollo!"

"'Witty retorts'? That's some vocabulary there, princess," I commented. Some of my siblings, Cole and Manny included, snickered under their breaths. The ones that still had arrows had one trained on her and her thing.

She looked ready to maul me, "I said enough. Bow before us now, and we may or may not spare your lives."

"I'm just trying to figure out how the hell you two are involved," I snapped.

She flipped some of her hair over her shoulder with a proud 'hmph.' "You are gazing at the glorious daughter of Hecate," she stated. "Everything you see has been granted to us by my mother's powers."

"Yours?" I asked.

Bella frowned down to where Kellie was, "She had a chance to become a disciple of our mother, but she chose not to." She grinned, "Too bad for her I learned a spell to brainwash her with." She cackled.

I glared at her. I knew they weren't close, but for Bella to do that to her own little sister, and for Richard to allow that, it just. . . I can't even comprehend a word to describe how I feel about that.

My glare turned to a throb, and within seconds, the fur of the thing was on fire. It moved a lot quicker this time and soon engulfed the entire thing and its rider. Bella screamed, and the thing screeched, making the rest of us flinch again. Her high pitched scream caused the robots to stumble, the sound screwing up the perception their programs gave them. Harry and Odius took that chance to smash most of them together.

"Bet your magic can't get you out of that," I told her.

She growled at me, and tried to cast some kind of spell, but the smoke from the flames caught in her throat, causing her to choke on her words. Her beast's hardly existing wings faded and they fell in a heap near the front door.

"No!" Richard screamed.

I saw Kellie blink and shake her head, putting a hand against her forehead. Richard hit a button on his chariot and the robot Kellie was sitting on threw her off with a faint yelp. She rolled a few yards away from her father and didn't get up.

"What is this guy?" Manny asked.

"He's not even worth the thought," I replied, shooting an arrow aimed at him. It fell short.

"You're too far away," Cole said. "You can't hit him from here."

"Fine," I hissed. I whistled, jumping onto the ledge of the balcony. All my brothers reacted at once, trying to get me down. I jumped off anyway, with them yelling at me. Sunstreak zoomed beneath me before I got too far from the balcony and I steered him towards the chariot.

I could hear the twins, Manny, Thalia, Harry, and Odius yelling at me to not do anything stupid, but I was passed that point. All I knew was that Richard had crossed the line. I may not be as big into family as some of the others wanted me to be, but I still cared for them enough to protect them. Kellie didn't deserve that, especially not from her own father and sister. Richard had gone after and hurt two of my brothers and the guy I was in love with. I'd had enough of his crap, so it was time for him to join the underworld once and for all.

**For anyone wondering about the stepsisters, there's your answer. How am I doing so far? Good? Bad?**


	22. Chapter 20

Richard was laughing maniacally by now. His eyes were wide and blood shot as he shouted insults at me. The death of his 'princess' had made him crack even further. Of course the jerk wouldn't stand still for me to shoot him. He also had a flame thrower so I couldn't get close without my Pegasus getting hurt. I wasn't even all that surprised to find bullets racing by me. Richard wasn't playing against our rules, he was still only human.

His robots were being taken down left and right finally. Their membranes had been cracked and majorly damaged by Bella's screams. The others had things handled.

Richard was panting, watching everything with quick movements of his eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he muttered. "I'm supposed to win. You're supposed to break."

"That doesn't look to be happening," I said, a new arrow notched and aimed. He fried it before it got close.

He was still looking over the field as he shot without aiming. I took the opportunity of steering Sunstreak out of the way to glance at the others.

Harry was unstoppable. He swung his ax around like nothing, hitting the cracked membranes in just the right places for them to shattered. Odius was methodically working with Pollux to run the things into each other. I felt a small smile tug at my lips.

Apparently, Richard saw it, somehow. He laughed again, making me look back at him. "So that's your inspiration?" he called. He was still shooting randomly, not even aiming anymore. I hovered off to the side on Sunstreak, trying to figure out what he was planning. He paused in his random shots and stood panting. "I see it now."

"What?" I asked aloud. He had lost me.

His gun was up, aimed and shot before I could really see where he was shooting. I looked over in time to see Pollux pull Odius out of the way. The bullet just grazed his arm.

"What are you doing?" I yelled at Richard.

He was mumbling to himself, but I couldn't hear him anymore. It was a jumbling mess of words. I notched another arrow in and readied to fire. He shot off again, and my worry made me turn my head to look and hope Odius could dodge again.

He had tripped over his brother and they were both sprawled on the ground, the bullet soaring over them. I was relieved, until I noticed that Harry was standing a few yards behind directly where Odius had been, and had yet to notice just who was getting shot at. He was in the bullet's direct line of fire.

"Harry!" I yelled. He turned to look over his shoulder, but it was too late; he wouldn't be able to dodge it in time.

A flash of brown and a body slammed into the larger son of Ares and took the shot. It took all of us a second to comprehend just who hit the ground with a thud loud enough for me to hear from where I was.

"GUY!" I screamed, immediately steering Sunstreak over there and jumping off his back without even landing, hitting the ground hard and probably bruising my shoulder, but who cares anymore. "Guy! Guy, come on. Say something!" I slid next to him, turning him onto his back and cradling his head and shoulders.

Harry had landed on his butt a few feet away, staring as if not comprehending what had happened. We watched as Guy's side steadily turned redder and redder.

I set my hand over his to try and stop the bleeding, "Guy, come on."

He blearily blinked his eyes open to look up at me. "Flare?"

I nodded, "It's me. Hang on, okay. We'll get you inside and patched up." My voice was cracking.

He attempted to push himself to sit up, but winced and fell back.

"Easy," I told him.

He smirked sadly up at me, "Sorry, Flare. I don't think it's going to work like that this time."

I shook my head, "Don't say that. It's going to be fine." I knew that was a lie. His blood was seeping passed both of our hands onto the ground. It wouldn't stop in time for him to get medical attention. "Please," I begged brokenly.

He set his head against my shoulder, his breathing was catching every few seconds. His free hand came up to his bangs and undid his star clip from his hair. "Thanks, Flare," he said quietly.

"For what?" I asked, tears threatening to spill.

He smiled, "For being my friend." His dark brown eyes glazed over and he slumped in my arms.

I shook my head again, "No." Tears were now falling. "No." I hugged him and cried. I knew the fight was still going, but I didn't care.

"Guy," Harry said quietly, now standing. Odius and Pollux were sitting up where they had been, Odius with a pained expression on his face. The twins and Manny had come down to help on the ground level and were standing by the front door. Cody was crying, and the other two shared Odius's look.

Still standing where I'd left him, was Richard. He was laughing again. Each time he drew a breath to let out another laugh, my anger grew and my muscles clenched.

I set Guy gently down on the ground and picked up my bow. Notching an arrow into it, I aimed it at Richard, glaring darkly with tears still streaming down my cheeks. Odius saw the look of pure murder and pulled his brother out of the way.

"Your little sticks can't hurt me!" Richard yelled. "I'm unbeatable! I'm the new supreme god! Ahahahahahahahaha!"

"You're the new addition to the underworld," I stated. Flames licked at the head of the arrow before I shot it off. Once it was shot, the flames ignited and surrounded the arrow entirely.

"That'll burn up before it even reaches me!" Richard shouted. It was followed by yet another round of nails on a chalkboard laugh that was abruptly cut off. He had tilted his head back to laugh, and the burning arrow went straight threw.

He choked and gasped for air as his blood filled his lungs. He clawed at the arrow, but it burned his hands whenever he tried to pull it out. He collapsed, and I stopped watching him.

I turned back to my friend and shifted to brush his bangs from his face. I felt something dig into my side a little and looked down. Guy's silver star barrette was clipped loosely to my belt loop. I unhooked it and held it in my palm, looking at it and trying not to start sobbing.

"Flare?" Cody asked, coming up to kneel next to me.

Odius stood back a few feet, "Richard's dead." I didn't say anything.

"Flare?" Cody said again.

"Flare!" Thalia's shout did get my attention. She was over at the burning heap of what used to be the undead thing Bella had been flying. I stood, numbly, and walked over to her silently. The thing was a heap of burned flesh, the golden saddle charred and melted. Its rider, though, was missing. "She's gone," Thalia said.

"What?" Odius, Manny and Harry came up to stand by us. "How?"

"Where?" Manny asked.

"How should I know?" Thalia retorted. They started debating about where Bella was or what she could possibly be doing.

"'Once the fight is done; one more errand must be run. To the depths of the world you must travel; and allow the battle to end and the rest of fate unravel,'" I quoted. The others looked at me.

Odius smacked his forehead, "The rest of the prophecy. 'The journey not over until his soul itself it dead.'" I nodded.

"Now we have to get to the underworld?" Thalia asked.

"You don't," Harry said. "We do. We'll take it from here."

Thalia gave us an almost glare, but allowed it to pass. "We'll treat the wounded and. . ." She gazed behind us to where the twins and Pollux were still by our friend. I refused to turn back.

"Please take them back to camp," Odius asked her. She nodded.

I whistled and Sunstreak landed next to me.

"Flare?" Odius asked.

I mounted my steed, "Let's go." Even to me my voice sounded dead. Odius watched me for a second, and nodded. He whistled himself and Mauvecharger landed. He handed his Pegasus to Harry and mounted Sunstreak behind me. "How do we get there?" I asked him.

**Um….I'm just going to leave this here and run….**


	23. Chapter 21

We got to where the entrance to the Underworld was. Luckily, Odius was able to smooth talk and bribe the gate keeper so we could get in. I stayed quiet, standing between the boys. It was just Harry, Odius and myself. Cody was an emotional wreck and Cole wasn't leaving his side. Manny had offered, but he wasn't a hundred percent back from his ordeal.

Odius had taken my hand in his as we entered the Underworld. I held his, taking some comfort in his presence. We gazed out over the clouds of souls waiting to get into the gates.

A cackle caught out attentions. Sure enough, the self-proclaimed princess stood near the River Styx. She was singed, and her voice cracked from the damage done to her vocal chords by the smoke. She still had that haughty attitude, though.

"So you came?" she asked. I was seriously getting tired of her voice. "I came here to join up with my mother. She'll set you right."

"What makes you think she cares?" I asked. Bella glared at me. "Hecate is a goddess, they don't care enough about their children to avenge a wrong done to them."

"Shut up!" she shouted at me. "Just because you didn't have a mother. . ."

"You didn't either," I cut her off. "Has she acknowledged you at all or is this all in your head?"

She was still glaring. "What would you know?"

"Enough." Myself and the boys jumped.

We looked over to see a boy a little younger than us with jet black hair and matching eyes. He had a black hoodie and jeans on. Next to him was Guy, surprisingly. He was dressed as he had been in the fight, but he was translucent. As in, we could see through him.

The boy stepped forward, "You're not welcomed here, daughter of Hecate. Leave."

Bella turned her oh so sinister glare onto him. "Who are you to order me around?"

His look was just as cold. "My father is Hades, girl. Don't test me." Bella did recoil a step. Any further and she'd fall into the Styx.

I stepped towards her, calmly walking. She turned to me, and I could see that she was flustered. She wasn't used to people not being blinded by her beauty and defy her,

"Stay away from me, you creep!" she yelled at me.

"Go jump off a bridge," I replied. As I got closer, she got closer to the edge, "And leave the rest of us who have lives to live them in peace." She slipped and fell, screaming again and making us all flinch.

I was still pretty numb, so I stood staring at the rushing water until I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. It was Guy. Or, Guy's ghost. Spirit? I don't know, but it was him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I shook my head, "How can I be?" I asked sadly. "You're. . ."

He hugged me, and I cried into his somehow existent shoulder. "You'll be alright," he told me. "Where's the tough girl I used to be scared of?"

I laughed brokenly.

He lightly stroked my hair. "You have your family. And Odius." He pulled away for me to look at him, touching his clip I had placed back on my belt loop. "And I'll always be around."

I nodded my head slowly.

"Smile a little?" he asked.

I managed a small one, "Alright. At least I get to say my best friend is a ghost and get to mean it literally."

He laughed, "There we go."

"Will you be okay?" I asked.

He nodded, "I'll be fine. I luckily have Nico on my side. Somewhat at least." He looked at the clip.

"What is it?" I asked, noticing him hesitate.

"Well. . ." he said. "Can I ask you a favor?"

I nodded, "Of course, anything."

He had moved so we were now holding hands between us. He looked at me. "There's a jewelry box, under my mattress back at camp. Do you think you could maybe. . ."

"I could?" I prompted when he paused.

"Could you bring it to my dad?" he asked meekly. "I want him to have it back. For what's inside of it."

I smiled at him. "Sure. I'll make sure he gets it."

Guy smiled back and we hugged again. "I love you, Flare. I almost wish we had been siblings."

"We are, in our own minds," I told him.

"Flare, we need to go," Odius said, coming up to us. Harry stood back with Nico, looking embarrassed.

Guy turned to Odius and held out my hand to him. Odius took it. Guy smiled at him, "Keep an eye on her, Odius."

Odius nodded, "Will do."

Nico passed us as we returned to where Harry was. I glanced back once as we walked away. Guy waved to me. Odius squeezed my hand. I leaned against him a little, still feeling grief that Guy was dead, but I felt lighter. He'd be alright. We all would be alright.

**I don't really know what to say about this chapter…**

**I am sorry if I enraged anyone with my last chapter. I had such a hard time writing that since Guy grew on me really fast T-T **

**I would love to do something else with him, I just don't know what yet…**


	24. Chapter 22

We managed to make it back to camp just passed sunrise. Chiron and Dionysus were waiting for us. Chiron's expression was concerned. Odius got off of Sunstreak's back and turned to help me down. I was just about passed out dead now. The exhaustion from the adrenaline of the fight and the grief of Guy's death had finally caught up to me.

"How is everyone?" Odius asked the two men, helping me to hold up my weight. I didn't want to be carried. I was just tired.

"Everyone made it back in one piece," Chiron told us. "We are preparing for the funeral ceremony tonight." He glanced at me. I stayed quiet, staring at the ground. I did glance over as Harry stomped off towards the cabins. I almost wanted to say that this was his way of grieving.

"Come on, Flare," Odius said softly. "Let's get you to your cabin so you can rest."

"I gave Manny some ambrosia," Chiron said. "Make sure you take some, Flare."

I just nodded and let Odius walk me to the cabin. Our younger siblings, who had been left back at camp because of their age, were nearly hysterical. Some of our siblings were dead and the rest of us were pretty worse for wear. Cole and Cody were passed out on Cole's bed. Cole had his arm around his brother and I was pretty sure that he wouldn't be letting him out of his sight for a long while. Manny was sitting with the younger ones, trying to reassure and calm them down. They glanced at me but didn't say anything since I wouldn't have been able to respond. I wasn't awake long enough to take any ambrosia. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

I did dream that night. Of my father. The gods had returned home to Mt. Olympus once the giant had been taken care of, and they knew what had happened. Apollo was sitting next to me on the bed, in a room that was a lot prettier than any I've ever been in before.

"Hey, there," Apollo said, smiling when he saw me looking at him. "How're you feeling?"

"Terrible," I muttered.

He sighed a little and nodded. "I'm sorry, Flare. I…"

"Don't," I cut him off. "It's not like you could have changed any of it."

He looked at me for a minute and slowly nodded. "You're right. I couldn't. I just doubt that that would stop you from blaming me."

I stared off to the side. "I don't blame you," I said after a minute. "The one who started all of this was Richard."

Apollo set his hand on my head. His hand was warm, and for some reason I found it comforting. "You did well, Flare," he told me. "You protected your family and I know you always will, whether you ever accept me or not."

I looked up at him. I smiled a little and nodded. "Thanks," I told him.

He blinked for a minute but smiled back.

"I'm still mad at you, though," I added, my eyes getting heavy again.

He laughed. "That's my girl."

The dream faded and I slept the rest of the time dream free.

I was woken up for the funeral. I finally took some ambrosia and it really helped with my stiff limbs and slight aching pains. I changed, pulled a hoodie on and tied my hair up before walking out of the cabin with the others. Being the acting head of the cabin, I was the one to stand beside our fallen siblings with the torch, while the other heads did the same. I tried really hard not to cry again as each person's shroud was set aflame.

I stood with my hands in my pockets as I watched the flames burn. It was quiet all around as everyone mourned. Many were crying, and that wasn't helping me. My entire cabin was. Even Manny. After a few minutes, I realized that I was too. There were silent tears running down my cheeks. I closed my eyes and put my head down for the rest of the ceremony, clenching my hands in the pocket of my hoodie.

I went to the Aphrodite cabin the next morning before breakfast. I talked with the head, a young girl with pretty black hair and hazel eyes. I told her about a keepsake Guy had asked me to retrieve, and she let me into the cabin with no questions. The cabin made me cringe at its appearance and the scent was suffocating in the air. I really felt bad for Guy for having to live like this.

Guy's bed had already been stripped down, but the box he had mentioned was still under the mattress like he had said. It was dark blue with silver trim and had glitter embedded into the blue all around It. There was a silver heart clasp that held it closed. It looked way too girly, even for Guy. I figured that it had been given to him by someone who didn't know him. I had a pretty good idea of who, too. There were several unopened letters, all from Guy addressed to his dad. Letters he had never sent. I took those to give to him as well. It was also nice to use them for the address of where I'd be going.

I took the box back to my cabin and started packing. Odius came up behind me. "Going somewhere?" he asked, making me jump.

I turned towards him. "I promised him," I said simply.

He nodded. "I know. Chiron and my dad want to talk to you before you go. Manny's heading out again."

I sighed and nodded. I knew Manny wasn't going to stay long. His life wasn't in the camp. I picked my bag up and followed Odius to the Big House. Manny, Chiron and Dionysus were standing on the porch. Manny looked at me as I came up to them.

"Feeling better?" Manny asked.

"A little," I answered honestly. "You heading out?"

"After lunch, yes," he said. "The kids need a little more reassuring."

"Flare," Chiron said, catching my attention. "We are aware of your errands, but when you are done, what do you plan on doing?"

I shrug. "I haven't gotten that far."

The centaur nodded. "We want you to return here. To be a counselor for your cabin."

I looked at them curiously. "A counselor? Are you sure?"

He nodded with a soft smile. "We are very sure."

I looked between them. Dionysus was pretending like he could care less, as usual. "I'll think about it." After talking with them for a few more minutes and saying my goodbye to Manny, I headed out to meet Argus, who would take me into the city.

Odius walked next to me. "I'll meet you after you're done talking to Guy's dad," he said.

"Why?" I looked at him.

"There's something else you need to do," he told me. That only made me more confused, but he didn't clarify.

**Two chapters today for you guys! We're coming up on the end. There are two more chapters after this and then the epilogue.**


	25. Chapter 23

**Sorry for going a little MIA. It's been a really tough few days…. . The rest of the story will be posted today to make up for it.**

I looked up at the well-kept small house. It was a simple white, two story with a porch. The yard was green with flowers and bushes and trees growing along the edges. I thought it was cute.

I gripped the strap of my bag as I walked down the brick path way. I couldn't stand there forever. I checked the address for the thousandth time on the porch before putting the envelope back into my bag. I rang the doorbell. It was quiet for a while.

I debating on just leaving and trying again later when the door opened. The man wasn't exactly old looking. He had dark brunette hair and honey eyes. He was tall, and had lines around his mouth that showed that he either smiled or frowned a lot. I could tell he was a nice guy, though.

He looked me over and said, "Sorry, miss. I'm not interested in any fundraisers." He went to shut the door.

"Wait!" I called quickly. He stopped and looked at me. "I'm not selling anything, sir," I told him as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder. "My name is Flare Ruik. I'm a friend of your son."

That definitely caught his attention. He opened the door completely with a different light in his eyes. "Guy?" I nodded. "So you're a….?"

"Yes," I replied. I saw him looking around. I tried not to show anything on my face. "I'd like to talk to you about him."

Something must have come through in my voice, because the light in his eyes was starting to die when he looked at me again. He nodded slowly. "Please. Come in."

I followed him inside to a small dining room. He gestured to one of the chairs and I sat down, setting my bag next to me on the ground. He asked if I wanted anything to drink, and I simply asked for water. He handed me a bottled water and poured some coffee for himself before taking a seat across from me.

"What happened to him?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

I looked at him. His shoulders were slumped and his head was down. His eyes were empty. He knew his son was dead.

I stared down at the table and took a deep breath. I explained to him all that had happened, from how Guy was assigned as one of my guards, to his role of helping the wounded in the war. That made Mr. Brean smile a little. He knew Guy wasn't one to actually fight. I was playing with the water bottle a little.

"He died protecting one of our friends," I said softly.

It was quiet for a while. I knew I was going to cry again if I kept thinking about it.

"Did he…." I looked back at him. "Did he even fit in at camp?"

"Not really," I answered honestly. "He did have a few friends, though."

He smiled, just a little. "I can tell."

I opened my bag and took out the glittery box and the unopened letters. I set the box on the table and the letters on top of that in front of him. Mr. Brean looked at it, almost in surprise.

"He asked me to get this back to you," I told him. I set the star clip on top last. I had been keeping that clipped to my belt loop so it wouldn't get lost or damaged on the way here.

He took up the clip first, holding it as if it were glass. He was almost in tears as he ran a finger over the glittered star. If he cried, I definitely would follow right after.

"I'm surprised he kept this," he whispered.

"I never saw him without it," I said.

He took that comment to heart because tears were now falling down his cheeks. I knew that the clip had meant a lot to Guy. It seemed that it meant just as much to his dad as it did to him.

He eventually, carefully, set the clip down off to the side and looked over the letters. He set those aside too. I was a little glad for that. I didn't know what was in the letters and if it got to be too much I would be so lost. He seemed to want to read them when he was alone anyway. I could understand that. He looked at the box finally.

For a while, he just stared at it. His hands were now flat on the table as he continued to stare at the blue box. "This I thought he'd get rid of," he finally said, his voice quiet. "I was sure he hated this."

"It's what's inside," I said, keeping my voice soft. Mr. Brean looked at me curiously. I shrugged. "That's what he told me. I don't know what's inside."

He spent yet another few minutes just staring at the box again before he actually moved to open it. He slowly opened the lid and looked inside.

As I had said, I don't know what was inside the box. So, I really didn't understand why Mr. Brean suddenly started crying even more. I think they were tears of joy, but it was hard to tell with adults. To say I was at a loss of what to do would be an understatement. I was so confused.

"Mr. Brean?" I asked hesitantly.

I slowly got up and went around to set a hesitant hand on his shoulder. I glanced at the box as he continued to cry.

It was like a normal jewelry box, minus the cushions the jewelry usually laid on. There was a mirror set into the lid and it was unscratched and clear. It looked a lot like something a girl would own, which made me all that more annoyed at Aphrodite.

Inside, definitely wasn't exactly girly. There was a baseball, turned brown with use and age. There was an old, antique style wrist watch that was still ticking. There was an old pocket knife, still in mint condition with a knife cleaning kit tucked neatly under it. There was a hand carved train engine, well-polished and obviously loved. There was a small key ring decorated with several random key chains and a decorated key. All over the interior under the trinkets were a bunch of pictures.

A boy in a soccer uniform, kicking a ball back and forth with his dad. A boy with a winning ribbon at a school fair with his dad smiling proudly next to him. The dad in bed with a tray of food and a handmade father's day card. The two sitting on the couch as the dad read to the boy.

Taped to the mirror was a picture of the boy, the oldest he's been in any of these pictures, standing with his dad. They had their arms around each other and the boy was smiling widely, his teeth gleaming. That must have been the last time Guy smiled liked that, because I never saw anything like it at camp.

Mr. Brean shakily took the picture off of the mirror. "My son," he whispered. "What did I do to my son?" He placed his head in his hands and cried.

Snap. What the heck was I supposed to do? I was about to break down myself. How was I supposed to help him?

In a way, I was saved by the bell. The doorbell. I was going to ignore it since it wasn't my help, but it kept ringing. I tentively left Mr. Brean and went to the front door. I looked through the peephole and was surprised.

I opened the door and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Harry looked seriously out of place. The jeans and T-shirt weren't new, though. Those were an outfit that Guy had chosen for him at one point. The difference was that he was back to normal hair and eye colors and his scars were all visible again. He looked too big for the porch he was standing on and he looked nervous.

"I just….wanted to…." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean I…" He sighed and roughly shoved his hands into his pockets. "I just thought I should pay some kind of respect to his old man…."

I couldn't help but smile a little at him.

He looked at me. "Were you crying?"

"About to," I admitted, sniffling. "He's taking it pretty hard."

Harry stared at the ground in depression.

"Come in," I told him. When he looked at me questionably, I told him, "I think it makes him feel a little better that Guy wasn't alone."

He nodded slowly and walked by me inside. Mr. Brean wasn't crying as much anymore, but he was still crying. All the little trinkets and pictures were spread out on the table. He'd pick one up and look it over before putting it down again. He almost had a far off look in his eye.

"Mr. Brean," I said quietly, not wanting to startle him.

He did jump. He looked at me. "Oh…I'm sorry. It seems that I'm…. phasing out…."

"It's alright," I said with a shake of my head. I pushed my bangs back behind my ear and looked at Harry. I pulled him forward a little more. "This is Harry, another one of Guy's friends."

Harry nodded to Mr. Brean, his hands still in his pockets. I think he was clenching them. He had to take a hand out to shake hands with Mr. Brean. Harry glanced at me, almost drowning in desperate emotions. I stayed back a little to give him space but still lend support.

Harry looked back at Mr. Brean, stuffing his hand back into his pocket. "I wanted to…apologize, sir," he said.

"For what?" the man seemed confused.

Harry glanced at me again. "Because….I was..the one he was protecting," he said, his voice the quietest I've ever heard from him. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd see a child of Ares show regret or pain. I could see both in Harry now. He blamed himself for what happened.

Mr. Brean looked at him. Without a word, he stood and moved closer to Harry. Harry flinched. All Mr. Brean did in any response was hug Harry. They were about the same height, so it somehow worked.

"He wouldn't have done it if he hadn't cared," he said. "And you wouldn't have come all this way to tell me if you hadn't cared for him."

I was sure that if it wasn't for Harry's pride, he would also be crying. I had given up trying not to, since nothing was working anyway. Mr. Brean reached a hand out to me and I was pulled into the hug as well.

We stood there for what felt like forever. As we did, I felt another arm wrap around my waist. It wasn't Harry because he was refusing to take his hands out of his pockets again. There wasn't anyone else there but the three of us. Harry and I looked at each other. By his look, I could tell that he felt it too.

It was a good feeling. Like the tension had been lifted from us, and we all suddenly felt comforted.

Mr. Brean finally spoke. "I did a lot of stupid things as a dad."

"Being the human parent to a demigod is never easy," Harry said.

Mr. Brean sighed. "True, but I feel like I still could have done better." He smiled a little at us as we pulled away. "You and your friends are welcomed here anytime. He would have wanted it that way."

Harry and I nodded. We were invited to stay for dinner, but I had to decline. It surprised me again when Harry said he would stay. I wasn't going to argue with him. He seemed to still feel a little bad, and it looked like it made him feel better to spend time with our friend's dad.

Mr. Brean saw me to the door. "Thank you, Flare," he said.

"For what?"

"For everything," he replied softly. "Everything you did for him and for me." He took my hand and set the star clip in my palm.

"What? No, I can't…."

"Take it," he cut me off. "Just do me one favor."

I looked at him, loosely closing my hand around the clip.

"Don't ever forget him."

I forced myself not to tear up again. "I could never."

He smiled. I think he'll be alright.

I felt something standing next to me as turned to step off the porch, clipping the star into my hair.

_"Ready?"_

I smiled to myself as I felt the apparition take my hand. "Ready."

**Sweet and emotional closing piece for Guy. I really did like his character. I might come up with something for him at some point.**


	26. Chapter 24

I met up with Odius down the block. He had the same Santa Fe that Pollux had brought along to help us. I was a little surprised that it was still in one piece. He was wearing black dress pants and a white, button up shirt. He opened the door for me and I sat in the passenger's seat.

"Where are we going?" I asked him when he got into the driver's seat.

"A concert," he replied as he started driving.

"A what?"

"A concert."

Well, I obviously wasn't going to get a real explanation from him. I settled back in my seat. I was already too emotionally drained to argue with him.

"It'll be a long drive," he told me softly, slightly glancing at the clip in my hair. "You can nap a little if you want."

I looked at him and sighed softly. I nodded and got comfortable. I fell asleep easily.

I was woken up a few hours later by Odius lightly shaking my shoulder. We were parked in a large parking garage of a concert hall and it was past dark.

"Come on," he said, getting out of the car. "There are clothes in the back you can change in to." He closed the door and turned his back to the car and looked around the parking garage.

I found a black dress and heels in the back seat that I quickly changed into. The dress was strapless and was slit up my left leg. The heels were open toed but not too high to be uncomfortable. I stepped out of the car and tied my hair up, not missing the fond look Odius gave me. It made me smile just a little.

He had put on a black suit jacket and offered me his arm after locking the car. We went into the concert hall and were led to our seats. The place was full of a bunch of people who were dressed formally. There was a small orchestra who were warming up by the stage.

"Fancy place for a date," I teased lightly.

He chuckled a little, rubbing the back of his head. "You could say that. So long as you don't get mad at me or anything."

"Mad for what?" I looked at him.

He opened his mouth to answer but the lights dimmed and the curtain on the stage opened. I glanced down to see a beautiful woman standing center stage. She had long brunette hair that was elegantly clipped back. She was tall and thin but had decent curves. She held herself proudly with her head up and her back straight. She was wearing a crème colored dress with black heels.

The orchestra began and she opened her mouth to sing. Her voice was beautiful. A soprano, her voice carried through the entire concert hall. The song was in Latin, and she spoke each syllable perfectly. She was one of the best concert singers I've ever heard.

"Who is this?" I whispered to Odius.

He handed me the bulletin. I looked at it and one particular name caught my eye.

Katherine Ruik.

I could feel my jaw drop. This woman….was my mother?

Odius was watching me quietly. "I thought, maybe, you'd want to meet her." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

I looked up from the bulletin to the woman on stage again. The song was finishing and the crowd applauded. The orchestra started again and another song began. I quietly handed Odius back the bulletin and leaned back in my seat, crossing my legs. I didn't say anything.

It made him nervous to have me so quiet, but he didn't want to push me so he stayed quiet as well. He kept glancing at me every so often as the concert went on. The songs ranged through several different languages besides Latin. Finally, it was the last song.

It was a song I knew. It was a Grecian lullaby that our entire cabin knew. I listened quietly, for some reason, feeling relaxed. It was a comforting song that we sang often in the cabin. Everyone knew it after a while at camp. Camp. It made me think.

The song ended and there was a standing ovation. Odius looked at me curiously as I clapped along with everyone else, my face blank. We stayed in our seats to wait for the general crowd to lighten up before we got up ourselves.

"Did you…want to see her?" Odius asked me.

It took me a minute to answer. "No," I said finally. I looked at him and smiled. "Let's head back to camp."

We reached the barrier just as the sun rose the next morning. I paused at the hill by the security dragon and looked at the sun as it slowly rose and lit up the camp. It was still early enough for the campers to barely be waking up and getting ready for the day.

Odius and I had changed back into our normal clothes. He was already down the hill going towards the Big House. "Flare?" he stopped to look at me.

I looked at him and walked down to him. "I'm alright," I assured. We walked to the Big House where Chiron and Dionysus were waiting on the porch.

"Flare," Chiron greeted. "Have you thought about it?"

I nodded.

I walked into the cabin and everyone turned to look at me. Most of them were barely waking up and some of them were already dressed and waiting for the others so they could go to breakfast. I knew that Pollux had talked with Cole and Cody so the cabin knew that there was a possibility of me leaving the camp for good like Manny.

I walked passed everyone to my bed in the back and set my bag on it. I turned to everyone else who were watching me intently. I smiled at them. "Hey guys. I'm home."

**And that is the end ^ ^ next chapter will be the epilogue. I hope you guys like this chapter**


	27. Epilogue

**A few months later…**

"Alright, raise your bows and take aim at the targets," I instructed, watching as the new campers tried to do as told. Many of them were fumbling with their bows and having trouble keeping their arrows in place. "Fire!"

Most of them missed or just barely hit the targets. Really, there wasn't much improvement from when we started about an hour ago.

"Retrieve you're arrows and then you can go wash up for dinner," I told them. They scurried off to do as told, some waving bye to me as they ran off. I stayed for a few minutes to make sure the range was clear before turning back towards the cabins.

As I was walking, a tall figure was tripped into my path by his little brother, who ran off laughing. I looked down. "Hello, Odius. You're in the way."

He looked up at me. "Yeah? And? Ooof!" I had lightly stepped onto his chest to walk over him. "Hey!" He got up, dusted himself off, and ran after me. "How was class?"

"Fine," I replied, letting him wrap an arm around my shoulders as we walked. "When'd you get back?"

"About an hour ago," he said. "I know better than to interrupt your class." He laughed a little.

Odius still traveled the world, but he visited camp more often. Pollux loved spending more time with him and I had learned to like it too. There really wasn't any point in trying to deny it. Everyone could tell it was a lie anyway. I did like the idiot.

The twins were almost old enough to leave camp. They were planning on attending a college here in New York that specializes in musical talent. They didn't want to leave, but they'd be close enough for me to visit whenever I felt like checking up on them. Cole had mellowed out a little with me. I think he actually likes me now instead of just tolerating me. Cody was still the sweet and innocent kid we all know, but he does greatly fear heights now. He won't ride the pegasi anymore, not even with Cole.

Manny had gotten a job as a normal camp counselor, working with young kids. I saw him every so often and he seemed happy. There was a daughter of Athena who was also a counselor at the same camp, and apparently Manny had a huge crush on her. She helped to keep him out of trouble in the real world.

Harry had been given the same choice as me. He was a counselor for Camp Half Blood and ran the arena and the close-combat classes. He was a lot more reserved than I remember him ever being. The quest, and what happened with Guy especially, had really gotten him to calm his ego down. Odius and I interacted with him as much as possible. He was considered a friend, and we weren't going to let him push us away. There were times I'd catch him out on patrol, just staring out across the lake. He was a little easier to deal with when it came to trying to connect with him.

I never really thought about how my life would turn out. I usually tried to take it a day at a time, just to deal with each problem as they arose. Now, I couldn't be happier. I have friends who I can rely on, a family who cares for me and a boyfriend who's an idiot but I love him anyway.

I sat at the Apollo table with Cody and Cole on one side and Odius on the other. I looked around at everyone laughing and eating. Harry was over at the Ares table, sort of rough housing with some of the other boys. The Aphrodite cabin was talking and some of them were doing each other's hair when they had finished eating.

I smiled to myself, feeling the star clip shift when I lowered my head to eat. Above the pavilion, a shooting star shot across the sky.

**And that is it. Thank you very much to everyone for reading and reviewing this. Please let me know what you think of the ending. Did you like it or not? Again, thanks guys!**


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